Trade truce extension cushions HK stocks
The Hang Seng Index ended up 62 points, or 0.25 percent, at 24,969 on Tuesday. File photo: AFP
Mainland and Hong Kong shares ended up on Tuesday as the extension of a tariff truce between the United States and China helped cushion investor sentiment.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index closed trading for the day up 62 points, or 0.25 percent, at 24,969.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index ticked up 0.32 percent to end at 8,916 while the Hang Seng Tech Index declined 0.38 percent to close at 5,439.
On the mainland, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index ended up 0.5 percent to 3,665 while the Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.53 percent higher at 11,351.
The combined turnover at these two indexes was 1.88 trillion yuan , up from 1.83 trillion yuan on Monday.
Shares related to lithography machines, brain-computer interface technology and gas led gains while stocks related to high-performance thermoplastics, energy and metal, and defense equipment suffered major losses.
The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, gained 1.24 percent to close at 2,409.
Washington and Beijing on Monday extended a tariff truce by 90 days in a decision that markets had widely expected.
"This is not a surprise to the financial markets. Investors already assumed the deadline would be extended," said Zhang Zhiwei, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, adding that the trade negotiations will take months and investors had shifted their focus to the US-Russia summit.
Blue-chip stocks on the mainland have gained 15 percent while the Hang Seng Index has rebounded more than 20 percent since early April when US President Donald Trump first announced the duties.
Semiconductors lifted mainland A-shares on Tuesday, with both Wafer Works (Shanghai) and Cambricon Technologies soaring 20 percent.
Hong Kong-listed shares of Chinese top foundry Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp jumped 5 percent after Bloomberg reported that China urged local firms not to use Nvidia's H20 chips.
Ben Bennett, Asia head of investment strategy at L&G Asset Management, said it is neutral on Chinese equities and that "we don't think the government will provide significant extra stimulus in the coming months, but would stand ready if the US turns up its tariff pressure."
Moh Siong Sim, a currency strategist at Bank of Singapore, said "it's largely a stalemate situation where the can is being kicked down the road for further trade negotiations." (Reuters/Xinhua)
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