HSI Gains 1 Percent As All Eyes Turn To Osaka

Hong Kong jumped more than 1 percent on Thursday as investors await the key meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping at the weekend, hoping for progress on resolving their trade war.

The Hang Seng Index added 1.4 percent, to 28,621.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.7 percent, to 2,996.79 and the Shenzhen Composite Index climbed 1.1 percent, to 1,577.

Tokyo ended up 1.2 percent. Sydney was 0.4 percent higher, Singapore rose 0.7 percent, Seoul put on 0.6 percent and Taipei jumped 1.1 percent. Wellington, Mumbai, Manila and Jakarta also rose.

While there is optimism for an eventual agreement, analysts say they are not expecting anything major to come out of the Osaka meeting.

Oanda senior market analyst Alfonso Esparza said: "The G20 is looking to be a disappointment to investors looking for a blockbuster trade deal to be announced and is now expected to yield a new round of talks between the US and China to be held later this year."

And Eli Lee, head of investment strategy at Bank of Singapore, added: "Our baseline scenario is that both sides will commit to re-engage in trade negotiations while Trump puts the final round of tariffs on hold for a few months." (AFP)