Asia shares rose on Wednesday, driven by renewed enthusiasm for AI ahead of key earnings reports from US tech giants Alphabet and Microsoft later in the day. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.85% in early trade, with Japan's Nikkei 225 adding 1.2% and South Korea's Kospi jumping more than 3%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was slightly lower, down 0.02% at 23,036 in mid-morning trade. Investors are awaiting the US tech results for evidence of returns to justify the significant AI infrastructure investments, while also anticipating a Federal Reserve policy decision.