Asian shares followed US equities higher as concerns over financial stability eased and as investors prepared for the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate decision later Wednesday. Stocks rose in Hong Kong, Japan and Australia and futures for the region-wide Euro Stoxx 50 also climbed.

• Japan’s Topix rose 1.8%
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.9%
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.4%
• The Shanghai Composite rose 0.3%

Wall Street closed sharply higher on Tuesday as widespread fears over liquidity in the banking sector abated and market participants eyed the Federal Reserve, which is expected to conclude its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday with a 25 basis-point hike to its policy rate.

• Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.98%
• S&P 500 gained 1.30%
• Nasdaq Composite added 1.58%

The dollar was pinned near five-week lows on Wednesday ahead of the conclusion of the US Federal Reserve's policy meeting, with investors awaiting clarity on the path the central bank is likely to take in the wake of global banking turmoil. The US dollar index, which measures the currency against six peers, was at 103.22, just above the five-week low of 102.99 touched overnight.

• Euro was little changed at $1.0770
• Japanese yen was little changed at 132.55 per dollar
• Offshore yuan was little changed at 6.8780 per dollar
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