Hong Kong shares mark worst week in three amid U.S.-China tensions

Hong Kong stocks fell slightly on Friday, wrapping up their worst week in three, as Sino-U.S. tensions re-emerged and fresh data pointed to lacklustre consumption in mainland China. ** At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index was down 0.1% at 23,797.47. The benchmark lost 1.8% for the week, marking the biggest fall in three weeks. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index fell 0.1%. ** The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares rose 0.1%, the IT sector lost 1%, the financial sector ended 0.4% higher and the property sector slipped 0.3%.

** U.S. President Donald Trump said he had no interest in speaking to Chinese President Xi Jinping right now and suggested he could even cut ties with the world's second-largest economy, as the pandemic had cast a pall over his January trade deal with Beijing. ** China's consumption remained weak and retail sales fell 7.5% in April, even as industrial output beat estimates and rose for the first time in 2020.

** After the market closed, Hong Kong confirmed the city suffered in the first quarter its worst recession since record began. ** The top gainer on the Hang Seng was AAC Technologies Holdings Inc, which climbed 6.5%, while the biggest loser was WH Group Ltd, which fell 4.5%. ** China's main Shanghai Composite index and the blue-chip CSI300 index edged lower, with the latter suffering its worst week in eight. ** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 0.2%, while Japan's Nikkei index closed up 0.6%. ** About 1.51 billion Hang Seng index shares were traded. The volume traded in the previous trading session was 1.70 billion. ** At close, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of 27.97% over Hong Kong-listed H-shares. ** The short and one-factor leveraged Hang Seng index, which is designed to replicate the payoff of a short or leveraged portfolio and is linked to the movements of the Hang Seng Index, was higher by 0.1% on the day at 5,459.57.