HK Stocks Up In Turbulent Trade

Hong Kong stocks finished Friday morning on a positive note, having swung throughout the session with investors fretting over the length of any economic recovery from the virus as well as brewing China-US tensions.

The Hang Seng Index rose 0.4 percent, or 95 points, to 23,925.

Mainland markets also made slight gains, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 0.2 percent at 2,875 points. The Shenzhen Component Index went up 0.5 percent to 11,014.

This came after new data showed China's industrial output rose 3.9 percent in April from a year earlier, exceeding expectations for a 1.5-percent rise and expanding for the first time this year as the world's second-largest economy slowly emerges from its coronavirus lockdown.

But retail sales remained weak as unemployment rose.

However, worries about confrontations between the two largest economies in the world eclipsed the economic data, as US President Donald Trump blames China for the disease that killed more than 85,000 Americans.

Trump signalled a further deterioration of his relationship with China over the novel coronavirus, saying he has no interest in speaking to President Xi Jinping right now.

The downbeat mood was compounded by another spike in US jobless claims and overshadowed news several countries were easing strict lockdown measures that have kept billions of people holed up at home, strangling the world economy.

Tokyo ended the morning 0.3 percent lower. Markets in Seoul, Wellington, Taipei, Jakarta and Manila also fell, though Sydney eked out gains.

However, crude was on course for a third week of gains on optimism for demand as people slowly emerge from lockdowns and output is slashed. (AFP, Reuters)

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