Hong Kong, Shanghai Soar On Trade-talk Boost

Shares in Hong Kong and mainland markets ended sharply higher on Friday, topping out another positive week, with investors keeping tabs on the latest top-level trade talks between Chinese and US officials.

The Hang Seng Index rose 1 percent, to close at 29,051.

On hte mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index surged 3.2 percent, to 3,090 while the Shenzhen Composite Index added 3.4 percent, to 1,695.

Most other Asian markets rose to end the week on a positive note. In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 index ended up 0.8 percent, to 21,205.

Seoul and Singapore each added 0.6 percent, Sydney put on 0.1 percent and Wellington gained 0.8 percent. Taipei, Mumbai and Manila were also sharply higher.

On currency markets, the upbeat mood helped the US dollar rise against the safe-haven yen, while the pound was slightly higher on the greenback but unable to break out of a narrow range as the Brexit saga rumbles on.

Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to try for a third time to push her EU divorce bill through parliament after MPs voted down a number of other options on how to leave.

However, Oanda senior market analyst Alfonso Esparza warned "the third time is not likely to be the charm" owing to continued opposition from key lawmakers.

"Failure for the third time could push the United Kingdom into a remain limbo, where a credible exit could not be engineered before the European parliament's elections in which Britain would have to participate." (AFP)