Hong Kong stocks rise as financials, telecoms gain

Hong Kong stocks recouped earlier losses to close higher on Tuesday, helped by gains in financial and telecoms firms. ** At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index was up 0.14% at 24,624.34 after falling as much as 1%.

Hong Kong stocks recouped earlier losses to close higher on Tuesday, helped by gains in financial and telecoms firms.

** At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index was up 0.14% at 24,624.34 after falling as much as 1%. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index rose 0.67% to 9,830.39. ** Leading the rally, the Hang Seng telecoms index and the Hang Seng financials index rose 1.4% and 1.2%, respectively.

** The top gainer on the Hang Seng was Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd, which gained 4.74%, while the biggest loser was Xiaomi Corp, which fell 7.25%. ** Investors continued to pull out of tech stocks amid persistent Sino-U.S. tensions, which saw Washington putting restrictions on Chinese tech companies.

** The Hang Seng tech index lost 1.6% following a 4.6% drop the previous session, posting its fourth straight session of drops. ** U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday again raised the idea of de-coupling the U.S. and Chinese economies, suggesting the United States would not lose money if the world's two biggest economies no longer did business.

** Shares of Chinese bottled water and drinks producer Nongfu Spring Co Ltd rose as much as 85.3% higher than their initial public offering (IPO) price on their first day of trading on Tuesday. ** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 0.22%, while Japan's Nikkei index closed up 0.8%.

** The yuan was quoted at 6.8314 per U.S. dollar at 0822 GMT, 0.04% weaker than the previous close of 6.829. ** At close, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of 42.90% over Hong Kong-listed H-shares.