Hong Kong shares almost flat as investors cautious before trade talks

Hong Kong stocks recouped losses to end largely unchanged on Friday, boosted by a late-session rally in index-heavyweight Tencent Holdings, as caution reigned ahead of a fresh round of Sino-U.S. trade talks. The Hang Seng index rose 0.1 per cent to 29,113.36, while the China Enterprises Index lost 0.2 per cent to 11,517.48 points.

A U.S. trade delegation headed by Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will visit China on March 28-29 for the next round of negotiations, China's commerce ministry said on Thursday. Sentiment improved after Tencent reversed early losses in late afternoon trading. The stock had dropped after its sharpest-ever quarterly profit fall and slowest annual profit growth in 13 years.

The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares dipped 0.3 per cent, while the IT sector rose 0.7 per cent, the financial sector ended 0.06 per cent higher and the property sector rose 0.28 per cent. The top gainer on the Hang Seng was Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd, which rose 5.96 per cent, while the biggest loser was China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd, which fell 2.11 per cent.

Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index added 0.21 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei index closed up 0.09 per cent. The yuan was quoted at 6.7049 per U.S. dollar at 08:17 GMT, 0.08 per cent weaker than the previous close of 6.6998.