Asia-Pacific markets rose as investors digested the Bank of Japan's landmark shift in monetary policy while awaiting the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate decision.
The BOJ on Tuesday raised interest rates for the first time in 17 years and scrapped its yield curve control policy, sending the Nikkei beyond the 40,000 mark for the first time in almost two weeks.
The People's Bank of China kept its one- and five-year loan prime rates unchanged at 3.45% and 3.95%, respectively. The one-year LPR acts as the peg for most household and corporate loans, while the five-year LPR is the benchmark for most property mortgages.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was up 0.3% in the last hour of trade, while the mainland Chinese CSI 300 rose about 0.22% to close at 3,585.38.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.1% to close at 7,695.8, a day after the country's central bank held rates at 4.35% for the third meeting in a row.
South Korea's Kospi climbed 1.28% to 2,690.14, powered by a 5.63% gain in heavyweight Samsung Electronics. This is Samsung's best day since Sep. 1, 2023.
Separately, the small-cap Kosdaq inched 0.05% lower to 891.45.
Japan's Nikkei 225 is closed for a public holiday.
Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes rose as as the Federal Reserve kicked off its two-day policy meeting.
The central bank is expected to keep rates unchanged Wednesday. However, a recent slate of worrying inflation reports has investors concerned that the central bank could signal interest rates will remain higher for longer than expected.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.83%, marking its best day since Feb. 22, while the S&P 500 climbed 0.56% to close at 5,178.51 for a fresh record. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.39%.
— CNBC's Pia Singh and Brian Evans contributed to this report