Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda delivers a speech at the start of issuance of new yen banknotes at the Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo on July 3, 2024.

Asia-Pacific markets rose Wednesday as investors assessed China's business activity data, with Japan's Nikkei 225 reversing course to log gains after the country's central bank raised benchmark interest rates to around 0.25%.

Economists polled by Reuters were expecting the bank to hold rates at the 0% to 0.1% range, though other analysts had expected a hike. This marks the first time since December 2008 that Japan's benchmark interest rate stands higher than 0.1%.

China's factory activity contracted at a slightly faster pace in July, with the official manufacturing purchasing managers' index standing at 49.4, down from 49.5 in June. This figure, however, beat forecasts from a Reuters poll, which expected the PMI to come in at 49.3.

Australia's second-quarter inflation rose 1% compared to the last quarter, while inflation climbed 3.8% year on year.

June's inflation rate also came in at 3.8%, in line with expectations and decelerating from the 4% seen in May.

• Read More