Trade Talks Resumption Fails To Cheer Markets

Hong Kong stocks were down at lunch Wednesday ahead of the scheduled release of quarterly growth figures in the financial hub and with US-China trade talks under way in Shanghai.

The Hang Seng Index was down 1.1 percent, at 27,833.

Across the border, the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.3 per cent to 2,944 while the Shenzhen Composite Index lost 0.2 per cent to open at 1,579.

Expectations about the Shanghai talks were low and it took a further hit after US President Donald Trump launched an attack on Beijing's negotiators on his twitter.

His tweets gave "a stark reminder to investors that the US and China are no closer to an agreement and in fact, might be drifting farther apart", said VM Markets Singapore managing partner Stephen Innes.

Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei was down by 1.0 percent overall but entertainment giant Sony soared 6.5 percent after the entertainment giant on Tuesday reported higher operating profit for the first quarter thanks to strong demand for its image sensors.

Elsewhere, Sydney was down 0.2 percent, Taiwan fell 0.5 percent and Mumbai dropped 0.8 percent.

Korean stocks were battered in morning trade with Seoul down more than 1.0 percent after Samsung Electronics reported a 53 percent drop in net profits.

The world's biggest smartphone and memory chip maker is facing headwinds as a result of a simmering dispute between South Korea and Japan, which has seen Tokyo impose restrictions on chemical exports crucial to Samsung's key products. (AFP)

______________________________