Hong Kong Stocks Edge Up, Shanghai Soars

Hong Kong shares bounced back from early losses to end the morning session on a positive note, though investors remain on edge over the Huawei row and lack of progress in China-US trade talks.

The Hang Seng Index edged up 0.2 percent, to 27,848.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index jumped 1.5 percent, to 2,914 and the Shenzhen Composite Index rose 1.9 percent, to 1,550.

Sydney lost 0.2 percent, Singapore shed 0.4 percent and Taipei lost 0.1 percent, along with Wellington.

Tokyo went into the break 0.4 percent down, while Seoul added 0.5 percent, with Manila and Jakarta also slightly higher.

"The US-China trade war is in danger of assuming Brexit-like characteristics – long and drawn out with a series of false dawns, but with no discernible progress made after a lot of emotional noise," said Oanda senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley.

"China has been remarkably quiet on the retaliation front, but I suspect that won't last for long now. When it does come, its effect on markets could be more powerful initially than recent US measures."

Regional tech firms were a mixed bag, with Hong Kong market heavyweight Tencent down 1.3 percent but Lenovo and AAC technologies well up. Sony and Sharp were around 4 percent down in Tokyo and Taiwan Semiconductor gave up almost 2 percent in Taipei but Seoul-traded Samsung rose more than 3 percent.

On currency markets the pound remains lodged around four-month lows against the dollar as Prime Minister Theresa May struggles to get opposition Labour backing for her Brexit deal, meaning it is likely to fail on her fourth attempt to pass it through parliament next month. (AFP)

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