Hong Kong, China stocks rise for third day as eyes turn to Trump-Xi meeting at G20 for trade war clues

Hong Kong and Chinese stocks ended slightly higher on Monday as investors turn their attention to an upcoming meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 summit in Argentina for clues as to how the trade war between the two countries might play out.

The G20 summit in Buenos Aires from November 30 to December 1 will be the last multilateral event of the year to be attended by both the American and Chinese presidents.

The Hang Seng Index rose 0.7 per cent, or 188.47 points, to close at 26,372.00. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, commonly known as the H-shares index, gained 0.5 per cent, or 47.89 points, to finish the day at 10,631.66.

Turnover on the main board was HK$80 billion on Monday, slightly lower than the daily average of HK$81.6 billion last week.

“The index is up, but trading is relatively quiet. Investors are waiting to see if the tensions will ease between the US and China. The Buenos Aires meeting will definitely be the focus of the market later this month,” said Alvin Cheung, associate director at Prudential Brokerage.

Traders have been dealt mixed messages lately about developments in the US-China trade war. US stocks reacted positively on Friday after President Trump said China was willing to take measures to resolve the trade conflict. But over the weekend, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit failed to reach consensus for the first time in its history because of the deep divisions between the US and China.

Traders are now waiting for something clearer to emerge from the G20 summit, Cheung said.

Technology stocks pulled higher on Monday. AAC Technologies surged 4.7 per cent to HK$56.00. Smartphone maker Xiaomi improved by 5.1 per cent to HK$13.60. Sunny Optical Technology jumped 3.5 per cent to HK$77.60. Index heavyweight Tencent rose 0.3 per cent to HK$291.20.

Property stocks advanced too. Sun Hung Kai Properties jumped 3.3 per cent to HK$110.10. Sino Land Company rose 1.9 per cent to HK$13.00. Henderson Land Development gained 1.6 per cent to HK$38.90 and CK Asset Holdings moved up 1.4 per cent to HK$56.40.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index closed up 0.9 per cent, or 24.40 points, at 2,703.51. The large-cap CSI300 rose 1.1 per cent, or 36.93 points, to 3,294.60.

On the tech-heavy Shenzhen Stock Exchange, the Component Index added 0.6 per cent, or 46.56 points, to 8,108.85, while the Composite Index gained 0.5 per cent, or 7.25 points, to 1,417.43. The start-up board index, the ChiNext, however, dropped 0.6 per cent, or 8.88 points, to 1,394.40.

Combined turnover for the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets dropped 8 per cent from Friday to 440 billion yuan.

Chinese property developers, many carrying heavy US dollar-denominated debt, extended recent gains after the yuan strengthened against the US dollar. Among notable winners, Vanke’s A shares surged 4.8 per cent to 25.97 yuan, Poly Real Estate gained 4 per cent to 13.52 yuan, and Gemdale Corp rose 4.7 per cent to 9.97 yuan. China Fortune Land soared by its daily limit of 10 per cent to 25.94 yuan.