Hong Kong stocks waver ahead of US-China trade talks in Switzerland
Hong Kong stocks fluctuated between losses and gains for most of the morning session after US President Donald Trump said that the trade talks with China on the weekend could lead to 'substantive' tariff cuts.
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The Hang Seng Index edged up 0.01 per cent to 22,777.88 at the noon break, having risen as much as 0.6 per cent before retreating 0.4 per cent. The Hang Seng Tech Index declined 1.6 per cent. On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index fell 0.2 per cent, while the Shanghai Composite Index eased 0.3 per cent.
Chow Tai Fook Jewellery rose 3.8 per cent to HK$10.88 and Sun Hung Kai Properties was up 3 per cent to HK$78.65. Chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International, which reported a 28 per cent year on year increase in revenue for the first quarter, fell 6.9 per cent to HK$42.05. State-owned developer China Resources Land fell 3 per cent to HK$25.50.
Dickie Wong, executive director of research at Kingston Securities, said investors were resorting to profit-taking following the market's rally over the past few days. Investors were likely to take a wait-and-see approach over the next few days to see how the trade talks play out, he added.
Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng will meet US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent this weekend in Switzerland. Trump said on Thursday that he believed the negotiations would result in tangible progress.
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'I think it's going to be substantive,' Trump said, while announcing a framework trade agreement with the UK, the first such deal since he imposed sweeping tariffs on April 2 on all trading partners. The agreement, which is seen by many as limited, still maintains 10 per cent duties on UK exports.
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