China stocks rise as Beijing expands access to markets, trade tensions ease

China stocks closed higher on Friday as investors cheered Beijing opening up its financial markets further to foreign investors and talks between U.S. and Chinese trade officials. ** China finalised rules on Thursday that would scrap quotas under two major inbound investment schemes, giving qualified foreign institutions unlimited access to Chinese stocks and bonds.

** At the close, the Shanghai Composite index was up 0.83% at 2,895.34 and the blue-chip CSI300 index rose about 1%. For the week, SSEC gained 1.2%, while CSI300 was up 1.3%. ** Adding to the upbeat mood, top U.S. and Chinese trade representatives discussed their Phase 1 trade deal on Friday, with China saying they agreed to improve the atmosphere for its implementation and the United States saying both sides expected obligations to be met.

** The financial sector sub-index gained 0.91%. The consumer staples sector edged 0.4% higher, the real estate index was up 1.33% and the healthcare sub-index gained 0.8%. ** Consumer firms led gains in markets, with the CSI300 consumer discretionary index ending up 2.8% after China says sales of durable consumer goods such as automobiles and home appliances rebounded significantly during the May Day holiday.

** The smaller Shenzhen index ended up 1.17% and the start-up board ChiNext Composite index was higher by 0.873%. ** On Friday, foreign investors purchased a net of about 6.6 billion yuan ($932.59 million) worth of A-shares via the Stock Connect linking Hong Kong and mainland in the morning.

** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 1.07%, while Japan's Nikkei index closed up 2.56%. ** At 07:08 GMT, the yuan was quoted at 7.0768 per U.S. dollar, 0.12% firmer than the previous close of 7.085.

** As of 07:09 GMT, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of 27.06% over the Hong Kong-listed H-shares. ($1 = 7.0771 Chinese yuan renminbi)