Hong Kong Stocks Hit By Fresh Trade Fears

Hong Kong stocks tumbled on Wednesday as the early boost from North Korea's offer of denuclearisation talks were overshadowed by fears of a global trade war after Donald Trump's top economics advisor resigned.

The Hang Seng Index dived 1 percent, or 313 points, to end at 30,196.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.6 percent, or 17 points, to 3,271 and the Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China's second exchange, fell 0.8 percent, or 14 points, to 1,837.

Stocks in Tokyo also ended lower, as the safe haven yen rose against the dollar.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 0.8 percent, or 165 points to close at 21,252.

The news that economic advisor Gary Cohn quit in apparent protest at Trump's decision to levy global steel tariffs came after the US market close.

Therefore, worries over its impact "had to be factored in firstly in currency trading... and then in the Japanese stocks market," senior market advisor Kyoko Amemiya of SBI Securities told AFP.

The "unclear situation" surrounding Cohn outweighed positive sentiment from the easing of North Korean tensions, Rikiya Takebe, senior strategist at Okasan Online Securities, said in a commentary. (AFP)