REUTERS SURVEY: Short positions on the Indonesian rupiah reached their highest level since the survey began in 2006.

Select Hong Kong internet names strengthened: Kuaishou (01024.HK) rose over 3%; Bilibili (09626.HK) and Tencent Holdings (00700.HK) gained more than 2%; NetEase-S (09999.HK), Tencent Music (01698.HK), Meituan (03690.HK) and Baidu (09888.HK) also advanced.

The Bank of Canada held its policy rate at 2.25% on Wednesday, in line with market expectations, marking the fifth consecutive decision to leave rates unchanged. The bank said it has not seen sufficient evidence that higher energy prices have broadly passed through to other consumer prices. Governor Macklem reiterated the BOC will not hesitate to raise rates if necessary to control inflation. The bank noted the Iran war has driven up gasoline prices, pressuring household budgets, while Canada’s status as a net oil exporter has boosted oil receipts. The Governing Council said it will treat the conflict’s impact as short-term but will not allow energy-driven price rises to become persistent inflation.