HK Stocks End Higher Despite Trade War Fears

Hong Kong stocks ended higher on Friday at the end of a fluctuating week, despite international fears of trade war between China and the United States.

The Hang Seng Index added 1.1 percent, or 326 points, to close at 29,844.

The Shanghai and Shenzhen financial markets were closed on Friday for a public holiday.

Elsewhere in the region, stocks drifted lower as traders kept an eye on all-important US jobs data due out later in the day.

After opening higher, Tokyo finished in the red, losing 0.4 percent while Seoul and Sydney also ended in negative territory.

Shinichi Yamamoto, a broker at Okasan Securities in Tokyo, told AFP "trading was thin as players were on the sidelines ahead of US jobs data to be released later in the day."

Market players scrutinise the monthly jobs report from the US Department of Labour for clues on Federal Reserve monetary policy.

The Asian session followed a positive day for stocks in the US and Europe, with Wall Street closing higher for the third straight day, as investors' fears over a full-blown China-US trade war eased.

However, officials from the world's two largest economies traded fresh blows on Friday, reigniting concerns that a damaging trade war could be in the offing.

Trump ratcheted up the rhetoric against China, saying he had instructed trade officials to "consider whether US$100 billion of additional tariffs would be appropriate."

The US leader has already asked for US$50 billion worth of Chinese goods to be punitively taxed, which has sparked a formal challenge from Beijing at the World Trade Organisation.

China hit back, with the commerce ministry saying it would "take them on until the end at any cost."

Beijing has also unveiled plans for painful import duties targeting politically-sensitive US exports, including soybeans, aircraft and autos. (AFP)