Hong Kong, Shanghai Markets Slip As Leaders Meet

Hong Kong stocks ended Friday's morning session in negative territory as traders keep a cautious watch over developments after the G20 summit kicked off in Japan.

The Hang Seng Index fell 0.6 percent, to 28,460 by the break.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index dipped 0.9 per cent to 2,970 while the Shenzhen Composite Index lost 1.2 per cent to 1,559.

Tokyo heading into the break 0.6 percent lower.

Sydney, Singapore and Seoul slipped 0.2 percent apiece, while Taipei and Manila were also down, though Wellington and Jakarta edged up.

Equities have enjoyed a largely positive couple of weeks on hopes for progress in the head-to-head between the leaders of the world's top two economies, though the possibility of failure continues to make dealers nervous.

While most observers are not expecting a final deal to come out of the Trump-Xi talks, the broad consensus is for some sort of agreement to press on with negotiations, which stalled last month when the US president hiked tariffs on some Chinese goods.

"Compared with even a couple of weeks ago, the probabilities have shifted significantly in favour of a harmonious photo op, which is undoubtedly better than the doom and gloom walkout scenarios, but well short of a tight trade policy embrace," said Stephen Innes at Vanguard Markets. (AFP)

______________________________