China, Hong Kong stocks climb as trade tensions ease

China and Hong Kong stocks climbed on Monday, tracking a global rally, as worries over trade tensions eased after an agreement between the United States and Mexico to avert tariff war, and as weak U.S. jobs data raised hopes for U.S. interest rate cuts.

** The CSI300 index rose 1.4%, to 3,615.62 points, at the end of the morning session, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 1.0%, to 2,855.56 points. ** The Hang Seng index added 2.0%, to 27,513.36 points, while the Hong Kong China Enterprises Index gained 1.9%, to 10,527.08 points.

** The United States and Mexico struck a deal on Friday to avert tariff war, with Mexico agreeing to rapidly expand a controversial asylum programme and deploy security forces to stem the flow of illegal Central American migrants. ** A highly anticipated late June meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping has some parallels with their Buenos Aires summit last December that postponed a tariff hike, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Saturday.

** The A-share market could continue to be favoured by foreign money, if negative factors affecting stock valuations are eliminated and (the Sino-U.S.) trade dispute is resolved to some extent, as markets with low valuations would be more attractive to foreign money amid signals of easing by global central banks, Fortune Securities noted in report. ** China's exports unexpectedly returned to growth in May despite higher U.S. tariffs, but imports fell in a further sign of weak domestic demand that could prompt Beijing to step up stimulus measures.

** Easing worries over capital outflows, China's foreign exchange reserves unexpectedly bounced back in May after a surprise drop the previous month. ** The rally on the mainland was also aided by strong foreign inflows, with foreigners via the Stock Connect buying more than 7 billion yuan ($1.01 billion) worth of A-share by the lunch break.

** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 0.89%, while Japan's Nikkei index was up 1.06%. ** The yuan was quoted at 6.9343 per U.S. dollar, 0.33% weaker than the previous close of 6.9118.

** The largest percentage gainers on the main Shanghai Composite index were JINJIAN CEREALS INDUSTRY CO LTD, up 10.08%, followed by Changchun Sinoenergy Corp, gaining 10.07%, and Lanzhou LS Heavy Equipment Co Ltd, up by 10.07%. ** The largest percentage losers on the Shanghai index were Shenzhen Kingdom SCI-Tech Co Ltd, down 10.02%, followed by ZHEJIANG DIBAY ELECTRIC Co Ltd, losing 10%, and Hunan Fangsheng Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, down by 9.97%.

** So far this year, the Shanghai stock index is up 13.39%, while China's H-share index is up 2.1%. Shanghai stocks have declined 2.45% this month. ** The top gainers among H-shares were CNOOC Ltd, up 4.93%, followed by China Life Insurance Co Ltd, gaining 4.2%, and Shenzhou International Group Holdings Ltd, up by 3.8%.

** The three biggest H-shares percentage decliners were Great Wall Motor Co Ltd, which has fallen 1.51%, Huaneng Power International Inc, which has lost 1.4%, and China Telecom Corp Ltd, down by 1.0%. ** As of 04:15 GMT, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of 26.03% over the Hong Kong-listed H-shares. 

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)