(Dow Jones)---Asian shares rose Wednesday as sentiment was bolstered by strong Australian data and speculation China might relax its tight grip on monetary policy in the near term.

Exporters in Tokyo rose sharply even as the Bank of Japan resisted the temptation to follow Switzerland's bold move Tuesday to weaken the franc.

Shares in Shanghai got a lift after a report from China Securities Journal Wednesday cited analysts as saying that Beijing may adjust monetary policy in coming months to prevent liquidity conditions from worsening.

"There are two factors to this (Shanghai) rebound: First is a technical rebound after the plunge in recent sessions, the second is market expectation that lower levels of inflation may lead the central bank to gradually relax policy," said Huang Bin, an analyst at Gold State Securities.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average was up 1.9%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 2.3%, South Korea's Kospi Composite was 2.9% higher. The Shanghai Composite Index was up 1.3%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 1.2%, while India's Sensex rose 1.0%.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 44 points in screen trade.

In Tokyo, exporters rose even as the yen strengthened slightly against the dollar after the Bank of Japan refrained from taking additional easing steps to combat the strong currency.

The yen, however, was far off the Y76.25 handle traded recently and supported exporter stocks.

Despite the BOJ's decision not to introduce additional easing steps, traders note the Swiss National Bank's move has opened the way for Japanese authorities to take action of their own to dent the yen. The SNB Tuesday said it would prevent the euro from falling under CHF1.20, which forced investors into the U.S. dollar as they looked for alternative safe-havens.

The dollar was at Y77.27 against the yen, from Y77.66 late Tuesday in New York, and at CHF0.8569 against the Swiss franc, from CHF0.8625.

Both the dollar and the euro took a breather against the Swiss currency after rising sharply on the SNB action.

The euro, which was under pressure against the greenback on continued worries over the Greek debt problem, moved up on the back of the stronger Asian equities.

The single currency was at $1.4049 against the dollar, from $1.3997 late Tuesday in New York, and at CHF1.2040 against the Swiss franc, from $1.2070, and Y108.54 against the yen, from Y108.70. Read More