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How China and Hong Kong stocks could react to the US-China trade talks this week

  • Automobiles, agriculture and technology shares could be in for a very jumpy week
  • Hang Seng Index to ‘perform well’, says analyst

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High-level officials from Beijing and Washington will meet on Wednesday and Thursday to discuss issues such as trade imbalances, technology transfers and intellectual property protection. Photo: AP
Zhang Shidongin Shanghai

The outcome of this week’s US-China trade talks in Washington is anybody’s guess. But one thing is certain – stocks will react. And this presents an opportunity for some savvy trades in the Hong Kong and mainland China markets.

High-level officials, including Vice-Premier Liu He and the US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, will meet on Wednesday and Thursday in Washington, with the aim of discussing such hot-button issues as trade imbalances, “forced” technology transfers and intellectual property protection.

Hong Kong and the mainland are 13 hours ahead of Washington, but expect markets here and in the United States to react to any hints, headlines and the like emanating from the talks.

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“The [Hong Kong] index will perform well [during the week] – both parties are willing to sit down and talk and work out a deal,” said Louis Tse Ming-kwong, managing director of Hong Kong brokerage VC Asset Management.

The outcome could have a particular impact on automobiles, agriculture, electronics and 5G technology, as well as pharmaceuticals. Trading carries personal risks that the South China Morning Post is not responsible for.

Automobiles

Mainland Chinese carmakers were among the hardest hit last year as an escalating trade war deterred car buying. Sales in China, the world’s largest auto market, fell by 6 per cent in 2018, their first annual decline in more than two decades. Companies from dual-listed Guangzhou Automobile Group to Hong Kong-traded Geely Automobile Holdings slumped by at least 42 per cent.

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