HSI Edges Up, Mainland Markets Lose Heavily

Hong Kong shares finished higher on Thursday after a cautiously positive session, with investors hoping for a compromise in tariff talks between the United States and Mexico.

The Hang Seng Index rose 0.3 percent, to 26,965.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed 1.2 percent lower, at 2,827, while the Shenzhen Composite Index lost 2.1 percent, to close at 1,463.

Tokyo and Singapore were flat. But Sydney rose 0.4 percent while Seoul eked out modest gains of 0.1 percent.

Investors are also looking ahead to Thursday's gathering of the European Central Bank, hoping for fresh measures to tackle rising worries about growth and inflation in the eurozone.

Central banks around the world are adopting a more dovish tone on monetary policy, with the Reserve Bank of India cutting interest rates on Thursday in a boost to newly re-elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is grappling with a sluggish economy and decades-high unemployment.

The third snip in borrowing costs this year – to 5.75 percent – in Asia's third-largest economy follows the release of data showing economic expansion falling to a five-year low.

On Tuesday, Australia's central bank lowered interest rates for the first time in three years in a bid to stave off a recession in the face of stiffening economic headwinds.

The Reserve Bank of Australia cut rates by 25 basis points to a historic low of 1.25 percent as the pace of growth slowed to levels not seen since the global financial crisis. (AFP)