Hong Kong Stocks Slip, Asian Markets On Retreat

Hong Kong shares ended the week with a loss on Friday as investors prepared for the upcoming meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.

The Hang Seng Index slipped 0.3 percent, to 28,542.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.6 percent, to 2,978 while the Shenzhen Composite Index lost 1 percent, to 1,562.

Most other Asian markets also fell as investors kept a nervous watch on developments in the G20 summit.

Tokyo ended 0.3 percent lower, Sydney shed 0.7 percent, Singapore and Seoul slipped 0.2 percent apiece, while Taipei, Manila and Mumbai were also down. But Wellington and Jakarta edged up.

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.

Hannah Anderson, JP Morgan Asset Management global market strategist, was also cautious.

"We have watched this movie before: China and the US talk, leaks from policymakers on both sides encourage speculation we are close to a deal, things fall apart, the US presses forward with higher tariffs and markets express their displeasure with corrections and higher volatility." (AFP)