Hong Kong stocks end firmer on possible tariff delay


Reuters | Hong Kong | Updated: 11-12-2019 14:51 IST | Created: 11-12-2019 14:27 IST
Hong Kong stocks end firmer on possible tariff delay
  • Country:
  • China

Hong Kong stocks closed higher on Wednesday amid speculation that Washington may hold back from slapping new tariffs on Chinese exports that are scheduled to kick in this weekend. ** At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index was up 0.8% at 26,645.43, hovering around the session's high. Earlier in the day, the index hit its highest since Nov. 29. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index gained 1%. ** The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares closed 0.6% firmer, the IT sector gained 1.2%, the financial sector ended 0.9% higher and the property sector ended up 0.7%. ** The top gainer in the Hang Seng was AAC Technologies Holdings Inc, which gained 5.6%, while the biggest loser was WH Group Ltd, which closed 0.9% lower. ** Officials in Beijing and Washington have signaled that Dec. 15 is not the final date for reaching a so-called "phase-one" deal, according to a Wall Street Journal report. ** Faced with often conflicting reports, investors have begun to suspect that even if U.S. tariffs due to take effect this Sunday are delayed, it could take until 2020 before Washington and Beijing can agree a preliminary deal wind back their trade war. ** There is still no clarity on whether U.S. President Donald Trump will slap fresh tariffs on nearly $160 billion of Chinese consumer goods, one person briefed on the situation said. ** Hong Kong enjoyed a rare spell of relative calm after what the police called a "generally peaceful" march on Sunday, the largest mass rally since the democrats' landslide victory in the district election last month. The city has been gripped by sometimes violent protests since June. ** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 0.6%, while Japan's Nikkei index closed 0.1% weaker. ** About 1.41 billion Hang Seng index shares were traded. The volume traded in the previous trading session was 956.29 million.

 

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