Market Movers: Mainland China Edges Up Amid Yuan Weakness

Mainland China stocks saw modest gains as brokers outpaced weak market sentiment resulting from a declining yuan. Meanwhile, Hong Kong stocks posted weekly losses, and the yuan hit a seven-month low against the US dollar. Eyes are on upcoming Chinese credit lending data for further economic insights.

Mainland China stocks inched up on Friday as gains in brokers outpaced weak sentiment caused by the falling yuan, ahead of key domestic economic data.

Hong Kong stocks declined on Friday and posted a weekly loss of 2.3%, while China's blue-chips recorded their fourth straight week of losses. Market participants braced for Chinese credit lending data for May, due later in the day, and the central bank's rollover of maturing medium-term policy loans next Monday for more clues on the performance of the broader economy. The country will also release May activity data on Monday.

China's yuan eased to a fresh seven-month low against a firmer U.S. dollar on Friday as the Japanese yen fell after the Bank of Japan (BOJ) stood pat on rates and said it would trim bond purchases in the future. Separately, the United States said it was considering taking additional steps against Chinese companies that have been supplying Russia's defense industrial sector, hurting sentiment.

At the close, the Shanghai Composite index was up 0.12% at 3,032.63. ** The blue-chip CSI300 index was up 0.44%, with the financials sub-index 1.05% higher, consumer staples up 0.53%, real estate up 1.99% and the healthcare sub-index down 0.61%. ** Brokers jumped 2.4% on hopes of industry consolidation. ** The smaller Shenzhen index ended up 0.37% and the start-up board ChiNext Composite index was 0.763% higher. ** In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index was down 170.85 points, or 0.94%, at 17,941.78. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index fell 0.73% to 6,374.66. ** The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares dipped 0.6%, while the IT sector dipped 0.92%, the financial sector ended 0.76% lower and the property sector dipped 0.03%. ** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 0.14%, while Japan's Nikkei index closed up 0.24%.