Officials from the United States and China said they were "close to finalising" some parts of a trade agreement next month after high-level telephone discussions on Friday.
However, the unpredictable nature of developments during trade talks in the past kept investors on edge.
"It’s not the all-encompassing deal that would really sort things out between the world’s two biggest economies. But it is a clear indication that – at least for the moment – hostilities are in hiatus," Greg McKenna, strategist and founder at Australia-based McKenna Macro, wrote in a note.
Focus this week will centre on the U.S. Federal Reserve policy decision on Oct. 30, where a rate cut is expected, according to a Reuters poll.
Philippines stocks <.PSI> led gains in the region, adding 0.3%, with heavyweights BDO Unibank and Metropolitan Bank and Trust advancing 2.8% and 3.1%, respectively.
Indonesia's benchmark index <.JKSE> rose 0.2%, recovering from its biggest fall in over a month in the previous session.
Consumer firms were the biggest gainers on the index, with Unilever Indonesia and Tifico Fiber Indonesia rising 0.8% and 15.1%.
Thai stocks advanced 0.2%, recovering from a nearly 1% drop earlier in the session.
Thailand's finance ministry cut its 2019 economic growth forecast to 2.8% from 3.0% projected in August, due mainly to declining exports.
A senior commerce ministry official said Thailand will pursue negotiations with the United States over its suspension of duty-free preferences on imports of Thai goods, which could lead to Thai exporters possibly incurring losses of up to 1.8 billion baht ($59.68 million) per year.
Meanwhile, the country's largest industrial conglomerate Siam Cement PCL gained 1.4%. The company announced plans on Monday for the initial public offering of its packaging unit.
Singapore and Malaysia markets were closed for a holiday.
(Reporting by Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru)
By Sameer Manekar
