HSI Ends A Good Week With Gain, Shanghai Jumps

Hong Kong stocks finished the week with another gain on Friday as early uncertainty was replaced by optimism that China and the United States will reach a deal to resolve their long-running trade dispute.

The Hang Seng Index rose 0.7 percent, to 28,816, putting on more than 3 percent in a week.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index jumped 1.9 percent, to 2,804, gaining 4.5 percent over the week.

The Shenzhen Composite Index climbed 2.3 percent, to 1,477, giving it a 6.3 percent improvement from last Friday.

Seoul and Wellington both edged up 0.1 percent and Taipei was flat, while Manila and Bangkok rebounded to sit in positive territory.

Tokyo was down 0.2 percent and Singapore shed 0.3 percent, while Jakarta and Mumbai also eased.

Richard Turnill, global chief investment strategist at BlackRock, warned that the stellar gains seen so far this year were unlikely to continue for the next 10 months.

"Don't chase the rally," he told Bloomberg TV. "Don't extrapolate the double-digit gains we've seen in the first six weeks of this year."

On currency markets the dollar held gains against most other currencies as the soft US data sparked a shift by investors towards the safer option, while the pound remains under pressure from ongoing Brexit uncertainty.

The Australian dollar was down but recovered pared losses that came on the back of a report that China had banned coal imports from the country, with tensions between the two becoming strained over Canberra's decision to ban telecoms giant Huawei's 5G equipment over security risks. (AFP)