Hong Kong Slips, As Markets Await China-US Talks

Hong Kong stocks fell for a third straight day on Thursday as a positive lead from Wall Street was offset by geopolitical uncertainty and nervousness ahead of key China-US trade talks.

The Hang Seng Index dipped 0.5 percent, to close at 30,942.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.5 percent, to 3,154 and the Shenzhen Composite Index lost 0.5 percent, to 1,822.

Asian traders were cautious ahead of key China-US trade talks while uncertainty linked to North Korean talks also spooked them.

Sydney was 0.2 percent down while Seoul shed 0.5 percent. Taipei and Manila were also down.

However, Tokyo climbed 0.5 percent, with exporters boosted by a generally weaker yen. Singapore added 0.1 percent, while Bangkok and Wellington was also higher.

On currency markets the US dollar has benefited from bets on higher US rates, keeping it around multi-month highs against its major peers, with retail data this week having provided further support.

"The consumer remains the economy's backbone, and if this robust trend in the retail space continues to build, factor in a bit of wage growth pressure and the US dollar will continue to move higher on the back of higher yields," said Stephen Innes, head of Asia-Pacific trade at Oanda.

The greenback is holding at 2018 highs against the euro as horse-trading to form an Italian government fuels uncertainty in one of the eurozone's biggest economies. A string of disappointing data on the economic bloc is also bearing down on the single currency. (AFP)