This is CNBC's live blog covering Asia-Pacific markets.

Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Wednesday, following declines on Wall Street after a sell-off in technology stocks picked up pace.

Japanese markets were in focus for investors. The Bank of Japan held interest rates steady at 0.5%, in line with expectations, as the central bank weighed the potential impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 0.25% in choppy trade to end the day at 37,751.88, while the broader Topix index increased 0.45% to 2,795.96.

Over in South Korea, the Kospi index advanced 0.62% to close at 2,628.62 while the small-cap Kosdaq fell 0.96% to 738.35.

Mainland China's CSI 300 closed flat at 4,010.17 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was flat in its last hour.

India's benchmark Nifty 50 rose 0.39% while the broader BSE Sensex picked up 0.28% as at 1.15 p.m. local time.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 ended the day 0.41% lower at 7,828.30.

Gold prices hit a record high, with the precious metal trading at $3,039.12 at 3.45 p.m. Singapore time.

U.S. futures edged up, as investors await the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision.

All three benchmarks were back in the red after two straight winning sessions.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 260.32 points, or 0.62%, closing at 41,581.31. The S&P 500 shed 1.07%, ending at 5,614.66. The broad market index concluded the day 8.6% off its closing high reached in February, bringing it near correction territory. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.71% and settled at 17,504.12.

Tesla, one of the stocks hardest hit during the market's recent correction, was down yet again on Tuesday. The stock fell more than 5% after RBC Capital Markets lowered its price target on the electric vehicle name, given stiff competition in the EV space.

Elsewhere, shares of Palantir and Nvidia dropped nearly 4% and more than 3%, respectively. The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) was also down more than 1%.

— CNBC's Sean Conlon and Alex Harring contributed to this report.

BOJ will 'continue to raise' its policy rate if economy and prices move in line with forecasts: Governor Ueda

The Bank of Japan will "continue to raise" its policy rate, if the Japanese economy moves according to its forecasts, Governor Kazuo Ueda said at a press conference Wednesday, according to a Reuters translation of his speech.

"If the economy and prices move in line with our forecast, we will continue to raise our policy rate and adjust the degree of monetary support as current real interest rates are very low," he said.

"If upside risks to underlying inflation heighten, that will be a reason to accelerate our process of adjusting the degree of monetary support," Ueda added.

The governor added that the BoJ "will look not just at wages, but the economy, prices and risks in deciding policy."

Ueda's comments come as wage hikes this year have taken effect across big and small firms.

"It shows wage gains are broadening," he said.

The BoJ held interest rates steady in its policy meeting earlier in the day. (view post here)

— Amala Balakrishner, Reuters

Indonesia's Jakarta Composite Index rises nearly 2% in final hour

Indonesia's benchmark Jakarta Composite Index was up 1.44% in its last hour of trade, reversing course from the massive losses it posted in its previous session. (view post here)

The index is set to end in positive territory, after four straight days of losses.

— Amala Balakrishner

Bank of Japan's policy normalization strategy may extend "well beyond 2025," MFS Investment Management says

The Bank of Japan appears to be in a "tightening mode," MFS Investment Management said, adding that "a policy normalization strategy that may extend well beyond 2025."

The central bank held interest rates steady in its Wednesday meeting amid rising yields on its government bonds (JGB).

For instance, the yield on the 10-year JGB edged up 0.015 percentage points to 1.519%, while that for the 20-year JGB ticked up marginally to 2.605% after the policy announcement.

"Local yields have been rising substantially in Japan. We believe this is mainly driven by monetary policy expectations," Benoit Anne, senior managing director at MFS Investment Management, wrote in a Wednesday note.

Higher yields, he noted, have the "potential to influence local investor behavior and allocations, including less of a pressing need to chase higher yields abroad."

Still, Anne cautioned that the global macroeconomic outlook and weakness in the U.S. dollar may also impact yields in the longer-term.

— Amala Balakrishner

Indonesia eases rules on share buy backs following drop in JCI and rupiah; BI expected to stand pat on rates

Indonesian companies can now buy back their shares for six months without getting shareholder approval, Inarno Djajadi, a senior official at financial service regulator OJK, reportedly said on Wednesday.

The move comes as the benchmark Jakarta Composite has been on the decline, falling nearly 4% in the previous session. The market hit a 30-minute temporary suspension on Tuesday after the index fell below the 5% threshold for the first time since late 2020.

A sluggish economy, weakness in the Indonesian rupiah and noise around a potential cabinet reshuffle have been weighing on investor sentiment, Ari Jahja, head of Indonesia research at Macquarie Capital, wrote in a Wednesday note.

Other concerns, include queries on how the country's new sovereign wealth fund Danantara will "move the needle on growth," he added.

Looking ahead, Jahja says investors are adopting a "wait-and-see approach,although they agree valuations appear undemanding."

The Indonesian rupiah has weakened 0.64% against the U.S. dollar to 16,450. Jahja expects Bank Indonesia to hold interest rates steady at 5.75% in its policy meeting later in the day.

"Pertaining to monetary policy, the market expects a hold on BI rate ... room for a surprise cut still persists to boost the economy. Overall, we anticipate macro to gradually improve in 2H25 amid new policies rollouts," he explained.

— Amala Balakrishner

Spot gold hits fresh record high of $3,034.96

Spot gold ticked up marginally to hit a fresh record high of $3,034.96 per ounce at 12.15 p.m. Singapore time on Wednesday.

The price of the precious metal has been on the rise ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy meeting that concludes Wednesday stateside.

Market watchers expect the U.S. central bank to hold interest rates in March and cut in June.

— Amala Balakrishner

Baidu shares down over 5%

Shares of Baidu fell as much as 5.61% on Wednesday, paring some of the sharp gains it posted in the previous session.

It comes shortly after the Chinese tech giant released two new artificial intelligence models over the weekend, including the latest version of its foundational "Ernie" model and a new reasoning model that it said rivals DeepSeek's R1 model.

— Amala Balakrishner

Shares in Xpeng plunge over 10%

Shares in Xpeng plunged as much as 10.42% on Wednesday, as the company's bets on higher first-quarter revenue on the back of the launch of its lower-priced G6 and G9 SUV models and expansion into Europe.

The Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer expects its first-quarter revenue to fall between 15 billion ($2.08 billion) and 15.7 billion Chinese yuan — higher than the 14.86 billion yuan average penciled by analysts on LSEG.

Xpeng expects vehicle deliveries to surge between 317% and 326.2% year-on-year to hit around 91,000 and 93,000 in the first quarter.

— Amala Balakrishner

Japanese yen weakens 0.11% against the dollar; Shares in export-oriented firms rise

The Japanese yen depreciated 0.11% against the U.S. dollar to 149.41 on Wednesday, continuing its decline from the over five-month high it hit earlier in the month{=null}.

The move follows the Bank of Japan's decision to stand pat on interest rates at 0.5%.

Shares of export-oriented companies rose on the back of the weaker yen, given that a lower currency boosts sales in yen terms.

Among the top performing stocks on the Nikkei 225 benchmark as at 12.10 p.m. local time were electronics manufacturer Taiyo Yuden, which was up 5.15%, and industrial products manufacturer Ihi Corp, which was up 4.61%.

— Amala Balakrishner

Bank of Japan keeps rates steady as Trump tariffs cast a shadow over economic outlook

Japan's central bank kept its key policy rate steady at 0.5% at Wednesday's conclusion of a two-day meeting.

The move, which was in line with market expectations, comes as the Bank of Japan assesses the potential impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's protectionist trade policies on its export-reliant economy.

The BOJ raised short-term rates to 0.5% from 0.25% in January, its highest level since 2008, after ending a massive stimulus program last year.

Read the full story, here.

— Lim Hui Jie, Anniek Bao

'China's economy needs more than AI': AXA Investment Managers

The emergence of DeepSeek has been a "gamechanger" for the Chinese economy and has "bolstered investors' optimism about the potential growth and economic benefits of AI," said Ecaterina Bigos, CIO for Asia-excluding Japan at AXA Investment Managers.

The AI startup has put the spotlight on China's artificial intelligence space, as governments and corporations adopt AI features in hopes of productivity gains, cost savings and earnings growth.

However, Bigos argues that "China's economy needs more than AI."

"China's recent market rally is narrowly focused and narrowly driven; policy support is still required to address deflation, to drive a broader, sustainable earnings recovery," she explained in a Wednesday note.

Going forward, Bigos said more policy support is needed to "shore up confidence in consumers and investors, as well as in the private sector."

— Amala Balakrishner

Japan posts trade surplus in February, reversing course from deficit

Japan's trade balance for February came in at 584.5 billion yen ($3.91 billion), reversing course from a trade deficit in the previous month, according to data released by the Ministry of Finance.

The country's exports rose 11.4% year-on-year in February, making this its fifth month of growth. The latest reading surpasses January's 7.3% revised figure, but falls short of the 12.1% estimate forecast by economists in a Reuters poll.

Meanwhile, imports decreased 0.7% year-on-year, missing the 0.1% increase estimated by Reuters. The reading is also significantly below the 16.7% growth figure seen in January.

— Amala Balakrishner

The market could ultimately fall 15% from recent high, Baird's Ross Mayfield says

Stocks could see more pullback from current trading levels, according to Ross Mayfield, an investment strategist at Baird.

"Your average nonrecession pullback or correction is in the 15% range, which is not all that different from what the average entry year drawdown is over the last 40 or 50 years anyway, so would I be surprised at all if we reenter traction territory and press toward 14% or 15%? Not at all," he said to CNBC.

As of afternoon trading, the S&P 500 has tumbled 8.6% from its recent all-time high, which it notched in late February.

"I don't think that a recession is imminent, and without more significant economic weakness, I think that's the probably the extent of it," Mayfield continued.

— Sean Conlon