Japan's Nikkei climbs 1% to cross 27,000

Japan's Nikkei share average staged a late rally to close 1% higher on Monday and retake the psychological 27,000 level, tracking early gains in U.S. stock futures.

The Nikkei rose as high as 27,047.47 shortly after the open - approaching a one-month peak - but then sank into the lunch break, only to rally back to near the high into the close. It pared some gains to end 0.98% higher at 27,001.52.

The broader Topix followed a similar path to end 0.92% higher at 1,894.57.

S&P 500 E-mini futures were up about 1.3%, lifting sentiment after a volatile day for U.S. stocks on Friday that saw the benchmark ultimately finish the session flat.

Of the 225 stocks on the Nikkei's index, 155 rose, 62 fell and eight were unchanged.

Financials led gains among sectors, climbing 2.19%, paced by insurer Tokio Marine Holdings jumping 7.64% after its earnings forecast from Friday topped analyst estimates.

Energy and basic materials were the only Nikkei subsectors to fall, with the former retreating 0.81% and the latter slipping 0.17%.