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By Bloomberg

Asian stocks outside Japan rose for the first time in three days, led by Australian banks, as investors awaited a Federal Reserve decision on U.S. monetary policy. Shares in Tokyo declined.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia rose 2.3 percent, with banks trading in Sydney providing the largest boost to the regional gauge, after Warren Buffett told The Age newspaper he may buy a stake in the lenders. Bank of Communications Co. paced gains for Chinese lenders after the government allowed mixed-ownership reform. Toyota Motor Corp. fell 1 percent, the biggest drag on Japan’s Topix index.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.1 percent to 146.61 as of 4:05 p.m. in Hong Kong. Fed Chair Janet Yellen may provide further clues on U.S. monetary policy at a press conference Wednesday after a two-day meeting, amid speculation mixed U.S. economic data and the deadlock over Greece may complicate the central bank’s drive to increase interest rates.

“Yellen is unlikely to come across as overly hawkish given the Greek situation,” said Shane Oliver, the head of investment strategy at AMP Capital Investors Ltd. in Sydney, which manages about $124 billion. “The markets had become a bit oversold. The bull market is still alive and well.”

Bailout Talks

The MSCI Asia Pacific index slid 1.2 percent in the two days through Tuesday as European policy makers urged Greece to make the concessions needed to unlock bailout aid ahead of Thursday’s meeting of euro-area finance ministers. Greece’s prime minister accused the International Monetary Fund of “criminal” responsibility for the indebted nation’s situation.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 1.1 percent. A gauge of the nation’s four largest lenders advanced 2.1 percent, the most in three months.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.7 percent and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index gained 1.2 percent. South Korea’s Kospi index added 0.3 percent and Singapore’s Straits Times Index advanced 1.3 percent.

The Shanghai Composite Index increased 1.7 percent, halting a two-day, 5.4 percent loss. Power producers surged on prospects industry deregulation will boost earnings and Bank of Communications climbed 1.7 percent in Hong Kong after the bank said it will explore adding private capital and giving strategic investors a more effective role.

Japan’s Topix index fell 0.4 percent. New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index slid 0.6 percent.

E-mini futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 0.2 percent after the underlying gauge advanced 0.6 percent on Tuesday.

The Fed meets as data continue to show uneven gains in the U.S. economy after a first-quarter slowdown. Traders are now putting odds of a September rate hike at 47 percent, down from 53 percent as recently as Friday, data compiled by Bloomberg show.