Hong Kong Stocks Rise, Energy Stocks Fall

Hong Kong stocks rose in the morning session on Monday as investors were cheered by hopes that Donald Trump's summit with Kim Jong-un is back on, though energy firms were hit by a sharp fall in oil prices.

The Hang Seng Index rose 0.6 percent, to 30,758.

On the mainland, Shanghai Composite Index was up 0.2 percent, to 3,146 while the Shenzhen Composite index gained 0.4 percent, to 1,817.

By the break in Tokyo, the Nikkei was flat. Singapore, Seoul and Jakarta were all sharply higher but Sydney fell 0.6 percent and Manila dipped 0.2 percent.

"Excessive worries receded as efforts resumed for a summit between the US and North Korea," Okasan Online Securities strategist Yoshihiro Ito said in a commentary. "However active trading is not expected as there still remains uncertainty."

Energy firms plunged with oil prices in Asia after Saudi Arabia and Russia signalled they could lift output.

Both main contracts tanked on Friday after Saudi oil minister Khaled al-Faleh said his country could open the taps wider in the second half of the year to insure against any supply shocks.

CNOOC plunged 3 percent in Hong Kong, while Sinopec was off more than 2 percent. Sydney-listed Woodside Petroleum was 3.6 percent down and Inpex dived a similar amount in Tokyo. (AFP)

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