Hong Kong stocks slip but on course for weekly gains

Hong Kong stocks slipped on Thursday but remained on course for weekly gains buoyed by signs of a thaw in the U.S.-China trade war as the two sides granted concessions ahead of planned talks.

** The Hang Seng index fell 0.3%, to 27,087.63, while the China Enterprises Index gained 0.3%, to 10,592.37. ** For the past four sessions, HSI gained 1.5% while HSCE was up 1.6%.

** U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday welcomed China's decision to exempt some U.S. anti-cancer drugs and other goods from its tariffs and announced a short delay to scheduled tariff hikes on billions worth of Chinese goods. ** China on Wednesday announced its first batch of tariff exemptions for 16 types of U.S. products, including some anti-cancer drugs and lubricants, as well as animal feed ingredients whey and fish meal, according to a statement from the Ministry of Finance on its website.

** Stocks were also boosted by hopes China will move to further bolster its economy amid the trade dispute. ** Over the weekend, China's central bank cut the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves for the third time this year, releasing 900 billion yuan in liquidity to shore up the flagging economy.

** China's factory gate prices shrank at the sharpest pace in three years in August, data showed this week, while the country's auto sales fell for a 14th consecutive month, reinforcing the urgency for Beijing to step up economic stimulus. ** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 0.5%, while Japan's Nikkei index closed up 0.75%.

** The yuan was quoted at 7.0859 per U.S. dollar at 08:14 GMT, 0.42% firmer than the previous close of 7.1159. ** Top gainers among H-shares were ENN Energy Holdings Ltd up 3.22%, followed by Sunac China Holdings Ltd , gaining 2.43% and Haitong Securities Co Ltd , up by 1.89%.

** The three biggest H-shares percentage decliners were Byd Co Ltd, which was down 3.53%, China Shenhua Energy Co Ltd, which fell 2.59% and PetroChina Co Ltd, down by 1.18%. ** At the close, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of 29.46% over Hong Kong-listed H-shares.

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