Hang Seng Index ends day on a weak note
Hang Seng Index ends day on a weak note
The Hang Seng Index ended trading for the day down 114 points at 23,792. File photo: AFP
Hong Kong and mainland Chinese stocks ended slightly lower on Friday, as investors remained cautious after a call between President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, failed to provide clear signals of progress in easing trade tensions.
Trump and Xi confronted weeks of brewing trade tensions and a battle over critical minerals in a rare leader-to-leader call on Thursday, leaving key issues unresolved for future talks.
"If you look at the conversation between the Chinese and US presidents, there's nothing concrete that's positive. So little impact on stocks," said Guo Jianwen, partner at Shanghai-based hedge fund Haiyi Capital.
In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index ended trading for the day down 114.43 points, or 0.48 percent, at 23,792.54.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell 0.63 percent to end at 8,629.75 while the Hang Seng Tech Index fell 0.63 percent to end at 5,286.52.
Across the border, the blue-chip CSI300 Index fell 0.1 percent.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index ended up 0.04 percent at 3,385.36, while the Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.19 percent lower at 10,183.70.
The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, lost 0.45 percent to close at 2,039.43.
For the holiday-shortened week, the CSI 300 Index gained nearly 1 percent, while the Hang Seng Index rose 2.2 percent. (Agencies)
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Asia Times
2 hours ago
- Asia Times
Hot race for Pacific's deep sea mineral wealth
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Pacific Island nations occupy a pivotal yet precarious position in the geopolitical structure of deep-sea mining. These states are not themselves extractive powers, but their legal status as coastal states and ISA members renders them indispensable intermediaries in the resource acquisition strategies of others. Countries like the Cook Islands, Nauru and Tonga act as sponsor states for foreign companies, enabling exploration contracts under ISA rules. In exchange, they receive royalties, infrastructure aid, and diplomatic engagement. Yet the leverage they wield, rooted in legal procedure rather than material capacity, is increasingly fragile. As major powers deepen their technological reach and begin to act outside ISA frameworks, the value of these sponsorships diminishes. The internal divisions within the Pacific region, between those pursuing economic opportunity and those advocating environmental caution, further fracture the negotiating position of these states. Their collective influence diminishes as they are drawn into opposing alignments. This allows external actors to extract favorable terms while offering minimal safeguards in return, rendering the Pacific not just a zone of opportunity but a laboratory for strategic experimentation by larger powers. These microstates thus find themselves navigating between alignment and autonomy. While they have used their position to secure economic rents and international attention, their ability to influence outcomes is limited by their institutional capacity and the asymmetry of power in these relationships. As multilateral governance erodes, their role risks shifting from active intermediaries to passive theaters of external ambition. Environmental damage from seabed mining is not only likely, but, under current practices and regulatory frameworks, virtually inevitable. 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