Hong Kong Stocks End The Week With A Gain

Hong Kong and mainland stocks ended with gains on Friday, closing the week on an upbeat note, though traders remain concerned about the lack of progress on new US stimulus.

The Hang Seng Index climbed 0.5 percent, to 24,455.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index climbed 2.1 percent, to 3,338 while the Shenzhen Composite Index added 1.5 percent, to 2,219.

Tokyo, Seoul and Mumbai also advanced. Taipei, Bangkok and Jakarta were slightly higher, though Sydney, Singapore, Wellington and Manila were in the red.

Signs of a weaker global economic recovery and a potential new wave of the virus are weighing on investors.

“Hesitations as to whether the US economy can sustain the current pace of recovery amid the lack of additional fiscal policy support and the Fed standing put on stimulus had the market reeling once again,” said Jingy Pan, senior market analyst at IG.

“The Fed hangover had seen to a conundrum for Asia markets with muted moves noted going into Friday between the Wall Street decline and the greenback weakness post Fed meeting.” (AFP, AP)