HK, Shanghai Slips As Trade Deal Optimism Wanes

Hong Kong shares ended the Tuesday morning session slightly lower with optimism over the China-US mini trade pact tempered by concerns about its limited scope and lack of detail.

The Hang Seng index dipped 0.1 percent, to 26,506.

Most Asian markets rose but investor caution returned while the pound was boosted by a report saying a Brexit deal was taking shape.

Tokyo jumped 1.7 percent by lunch as dealers returned from a long weekend to play catch-up with the rest of Asia.

Singapore, Seoul and Wellington were all 0.2 percent higher while Taipei added 0.4 percent. But Sydney was down 0.1 percent while Manila and Jakarta also fell.

"It has taken precisely one working day of the new week for optimism to fade about the US-China trade deal lite/mini/part one," said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst for Asia-Pacific at Oanda.

He said that while he expected the two to hammer out something for US President Donald Trump and his counterpart Xi Jinping to sign before they are due to meet next month, "the pseudo-deal itself represents nothing more than a holding action".

On currency markets, the pound rebounded after Britain's Daily Telegraph said a divorce deal was taking shape, EU and British negotiators hailing a positive day of talks on the Northern Ireland issue. (AFP)

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