Hong Kong's Hang Seng index flat amid US sanctions on Chinese entities
- Country:
- China
Hong Kong stocks ended flat on Thursday, as confidence was shaken after the U.S. government hit Chinese telecoms giant Huawei with severe sanctions. ** The Hang Seng index was nearly unchanged at 28,275.07, while the China Enterprises Index gained 0.1% to 10,811.62.
The Trump administration hit Huawei with severe sanctions on Wednesday, adding another incendiary element to the U.S.-China trade dispute just as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he would visit China soon for more talks.
China strongly opposes other countries imposing unilateral sanctions on Chinese entities, a commerce ministry spokesman said on Thursday in response to the latest U.S. restrictions on Huawei.
Gains in properties and energy firms were offset by losses for in firms, as tech giant Tencent hit a six-week low after posting a slower-than-expected growth in revenue. ** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 0.28%, while Japan's Nikkei index closed down 0.59%.
The yuan was quoted at 6.8848 per U.S. dollar at 08:15 GMT, 0.12% weaker than the previous close of 6.8768. ** The top gainers among H-shares were CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd up 2.59%, followed by China National Building Material Co Ltd, gaining 2.03% and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, up by 1.96%.
The three biggest H-shares percentage decliners were China Tower Corp Ltd, which was down 1.95%, Tencent Holdings Ltd, which fell 1.9% and Huaneng Power International Inc, down by 1.9%.
About 2.45 billion Hang Seng index shares were traded, roughly 144.8% of the market's 30-day moving average of 1.69 billion shares a day. The volume traded in the previous trading session was 2.31 billion. At close, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of 24.73% to the Hong Kong-listed H-shares.
(With inputs from agencies.)
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