Hong Kong Stocks Slide Ahead Of Beijing Briefing

Hong Kong stocks were down at lunch on Monday after investor caution ahead of US-China trade talks and more civil unrest in the financial hub.

The Hang Seng Index fell 1.2 percent, to 28,056.

The weekend protests were "factoring quite negatively into the overall risk equation with traders concerned that Washington may speak in support of the demonstrators, said said Vanguard Markets managing partner Stephen Innes.

"If they do, it would not only throw this week's trade discussion into disarray but could jeopardise bilateral trade negotiations going forward," he added.

China's top policy body on Hong Kong affairs was set to hold an extremely rare press briefing on Monday afternoon on the crisis engulfing the financial hub.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.3 percent, to 2,935 while the Shenzhen Composite Index lost 0.2 percent, to 1,569.

Most other Asian markets were down, as investors remained cautious.

Seoul was down 1.9 percent amid an ongoing trade spat with Tokyo, which restricted export of materials key to South Korean tech firms earlier this month.

Elsewhere the Nikkei was down 0.6 percent at the lunch break. (AFP)

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