Hong Kong and mainland stocks ended higher on Wednesday, led by tech shares, but gains were capped as investors held back from large bets ahead of the US Federal Reserve's policy decision later in the day.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 46 points, or 0.2 percent, to 24,713 on turnover of HK$181.09 billion.

The tech index rose 34 46 points, or 0.8 percent, to 4,325 while the China enterprises index inched up by one point to 8,206.

Up north, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 27 points, or up 0.71 percent, to 3,891 while the blue-chip CSI300 index advanced 0.7 percent.

Both indexes snapped four straight days of losses.

Gains were lifted by strength in tech shares, with the ChiNext Composite index rising 63 points, or 1.96 percent, to 3,311 and Shanghai's tech-focused Star50 index jumping 4.1 percent.

The Shenzhen Component Index was 166 points, or 1.26 percent, higher at 13,454.

AI is not a "monopoly of great powers" and the United States should work with China to manage risk to create a non-discriminatory development environment, China's top newspaper, the People's Daily, said in a commentary on Wednesday.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei recovered from an early decline to end 438 points, or 0.69 percent, higher at 63,923 as the benchmark rose for the first time in four sessions, driven by energy producers on elevated oil prices.

The broader Topix climbed 24 points, or 0.61 percent, to 4,061.

In Seoul, the Kospi closed up 90 points, or 1.37 percent, at 6,717, snapping a four-session losing streak as chipmakers rebounded.

US Federal Reserve chairman Kevin Warsh dislikes giving any guidance about the likely path of US interest rates, but elevated inflation, oil at more than US$100 a barrel, and his own emphasis on the need to deliver price stability and to pay attention to signals from financial market pricing appear to leave little doubt about what's next.

The Fed will raise its interest rate on Wednesday and deliver at least one more hike by the end of March, a poll showed.

"The key question is whether the Fed presents today's expected hike as a limited adjustment to reinforce inflation credibility or the beginning of a broader tightening cycle," analysts at Commerzbank said in a note.

"A surprise hold could push front-end yields lower, but potentially lift longer-term yields if investors interpret the Fed as insufficiently hawkish on inflation, steepening the yield curve."

Separately, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Tuesday he would meet with Vice Premier He Lifeng this weekend ahead of a meeting between President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump next week. (Reuters/Xinhua)




Edited by Tony Sabine