Hong Kong Stocks Give Up Gains, Shanghai Rises

Hong Kong stocks ended lower on Thursday, reversing early gains after Donald Trump warned tariffs on Chinese imports could stay in place for some time after any agreement is reached, fuelling concerns about ongoing trade talks.

The Hang Seng Index fell 0.9 percent, to close at 29,071.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.4 percent, to 3,101, while the Shenzhen Composite Index added 0.8 percent, to 1,697.

Singapore added 0.2 percent, Seoul climbed 0.4 percent and Manila jumped 1.2 percent.

Sydney, Taipei, Bangkok and Jakarta also rose while Tokyo was closed for a holiday.

The US dollar struggled in Asia on Thursday after a surprisingly dovish Federal Reserve indicated it would not lift interest rates this year and sounded a note of caution on the economy.

The greenback sank against its major peers, while higher-yielding units were also well up.

The South African rand piled on more than two percent, Mexico's peso jumped more than 1 percent and the Australian dollar jumped 1 percent. And the yuan was at its highest level since July. (AFP)