Equities in Asia were mostly in the green on Monday following the widely-expected results of the first round of presidential elections in France, with exit polls indicating that Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen would progress to the run-off on May 7.

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Centrist candidate Macron won 23.7 percent of the votes in the first round of the election on Sunday while National Front leader Le Pen secured 21.7 percent, according to estimates.

"While the increased popularity of the centrist candidate (Macron) is not a strong market driver, a collective sense of relief that the global economy is over another hurdle should see a risk on rally in Asia Pacific trading today," CMC Markets' Chief Market Strategist Michael McCarthy noted.

The euro bounced against the dollar to trade at USD 1.0838 at 9:35 am HK/SIN. The euro had earlier traded at a five-month high of close to USD 1.0935 against the dollar, compared to Friday's close around the USD 1.072 handle. The euro also made gains against the yen, trading higher at 119.20 yen.

"Euro/dollar has gapped much higher because we do not have the worst case scenario for the market. We may knock the level of USD 1.10 or possibly even USD 1.11 but this trade may fade as Le Pen is still there. This is going to keep traders on the sidelines," ThinkMarkets' Chief Market Analyst Naeem Aslam said in a note.

Asian markets were higher across the board. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index surged 1.33 percent on the back of the French polls while the Kospi gained 0.3 percent. The ASX 200 was higher by 0.27 percent, driven by the strong performance in its financials sub-index.

In greater China, the Hang Seng Index were higher by 0.63 percent. Equities in mainland China bucked the trend, with the Shanghai Composite down by 0.51 percent and the Shenzhen Composite off by 0.695 percent.

Geopolitical tensions in the Korean peninsula took a backseat even though tension continued to ramp up over the weekend. North Korea reportedly arrested an American citizen in Pyongyang. The hermit state also indicated that it was prepared to sink a US aircraft carrier to showcase its military prowess.

In other currency news, the dollar index traded lower at 98.980, compared to the 99 handle seen the past week. The greenback, however, was stronger against the safe-haven yen and off the 108 handle seen in the last two weeks. Dollar/yen last traded at 110.05. The risk-sensitive Aussie dollar traded around the USD 0.755 mark.

On the energy front, oil prices crept up slightly after falling at least 2 percent on Friday although US crude remained just below the USD 50 a barrel mark. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was 0.5 percent higher at USD 49.88 while Brent crude traded up by 0.56 percent at USD 52.25.

In corporate news, Hong Kong jeweler Chow Tai Fook's acquisition of Australian utilities company Alinta Energy was approved by Foreign Investment Review Board in Australia. Investors had been watching if regulators would clear the deal after Chinese investment in Australian electricity grid Ausgrid was blocked last August. Chow Tai Fook shares were lower by 0.24 percent.

Stateside, US stock futures opened sharply higher on the back of the French election polls, with Dow futures soaring nearly 200 points earlier in the session. S&P and Nasdaq futures were both higher by around 1 percent. Wall Street had closed lower across the board last Friday.