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Mainland China and Hong Kong stocks edged higher on Wednesday, led by tech shares, but gains were capped as investors held back from large bets ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy decision later in the day.
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At the midday break, the benchmark Shanghai composite index gained 0.6 percent, while the blue-chip CSI300 index advanced 0.7 percent.
Gains were lifted by strength in tech shares, where the ChiNext Composite index was 2.4 percent higher and Shanghai's tech-focused STAR50 index jumped 4.5 percent.
AI is not a "monopoly of great powers" and the US 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 Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng index inched up 0.1 percent, while the city's tech shares rose 0.9 percent.
Fed 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 Reuters 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 on Tuesday said he would meet with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng this weekend ahead of a meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping next week.
Reuters
