Hong Kong stocks trading flat amid Labour day holiday in mainland China

Hong Kong shares were trading flat on Friday as investors awaited U.S. jobs data, while mainland Chinese markets remained closed for Labour Day holiday. ** At midday, the Hang Seng index was pretty much unchanged at 29,937.73 points. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index dipped 0.1 per cent. ** The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares fell 0.9 per cent, the IT sector lost 0.3 per cent, the financial sector was trading flat, while property stocks edged 0.1 per cent higher. ** China financial markets are shut for a Labour Day holiday. Trading will resume on Monday, May 6. *

To mark the ascension of Japan's new emperor, the government had declared an unprecedented 10-day holiday from late April to early May. Japan markets will be back in action on May 7. ** On Wall Street, the Dow and S&P gave up initial gains and turned negative as the energy sector weakened. ** HSBC Holdings PLC posted on Friday a 31 per cent rise in first-quarter profit, beating estimates, bolstered by a surge in income in its core Asian business and as the bank managed to rein in costs.

Global investors await the release of April's U.S. nonfarm payrolls, due later in the day, which probably increased by 185,000 jobs last month after rising 196,000 in March, according to a Reuters survey of economists. ** The United States and China are nearing a trade deal that would roll back a portion of the $250 billion in U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods, Politico reported on Wednesday after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the two countries completed "productive" talks in Beijing.

The top gainer on the Hang Seng was Techtronic Industries Co Ltd, which gained 3 per cent, while the biggest loser was CNOOC Ltd, which dropped 2 per cent. ** The top gainers among H-shares were Shenzhou International Group Holdings Ltd, which rose 2.6 per cent, followed by China Railway Group Ltd, which gained 2.3 per cent and Anhui Conch Cement Co Ltd, up by 1.5 per cent.

The three biggest H-shares percentage decliners were CNOOC Ltd, which slipped 2 per cent, Air China Ltd, which dropped 1.2 per cent and China Cinda Asset Management Co Ltd, down by 1 per cent. ** The short and one-factor leveraged Hang Seng index, which is designed to replicate the payoff of a short or leveraged portfolio and is linked to the movements of the Hang Seng Index, was higher by 0.02 per cent on the day at 4,604.8 points.