Hong Kong rally, Australia CPI; PBOC cuts MLF

China stocks led gains in Asia-Pacific markets on Wednesday, buoyed by stimulus measures announced by Beijing a day earlier.

Mainland China’s CSI 300 rose 1.80%, powered by consumer cyclicals and industrials, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index advanced 0.52%, led by energy and basic materials sectors. Hang Seng Mainland Properties index climbed 1.8%.

Chinese markets had rallied Tuesday after the country’s central bank announced a slate of economic support measures, with the HSI seeing its best day in seven months, while mainland China’s CSI 300 recorded its largest one-day gain in over four years.

On Wednesday, the PBOC slashed the medium-term lending facility rate to 2%, down from 2.3%. This is the second cut to the MLF in about three months, after the central bank cut rates from 2.5% to 2.3% in late July.

The offshore yuan also briefly strengthened to 6.995 against the U.S. dollar, breaking the 7.00 level for the first time since May 2023.

Investors assessed Australia’s inflation numbers on Wednesday, with the consumer price index climbing 2.7% year on year in August, in line with expectations from economists polled by Reuters and easing from the 3.5% rise in July.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.19%, extending two straight days of losses.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.19%, while the broad-based Topix fell 0.23%.

South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.04% while the small-cap Kosdaq dropped 0.85%. South Korea on Wednesday announced its “Korea Value Up Index,” with trading set to start Monday.

The index will comprise 100 companies, with IT and industrial stocks making up more than 40% of the index.

Overnight in the U.S., the S&P 500 rose to a fresh record on Tuesday, gaining 0.25% to 5,732.93, while the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2%, also closing at a new record of 42,208.22.

The Nasdaq Composite added 0.56%, powered by shares of chipmaker Nvidia.

Shares of artificial intelligence darling Nvidia climbed nearly 4% after a regulatory filing showed that CEO Jensen Huang wrapped up his sales of the chipmaker’s stock for the time being.

—CNBC’s Brian Evans and Hakyung Kim contributed to this report.