China stocks slip as financials weigh; Hong Kong up

China stocks eased on Wednesday as financials firms weighed on the market, and as investors exercised caution ahead of the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. The CSI300 index fell 0.2% to 3,793.90 at the end of the morning session, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.2% to 2,975.09.

Trump views this week's meeting with Xi as a chance to see where Beijing stands on the two countries' trade war, and is "comfortable with any outcome" from the talks, a senior U.S. official said on Monday. The United States hopes to re-launch trade talks with China after Trump and Xi meet in Japan on Saturday, but Washington will not accept any conditions around the U.S. use of tariffs in the dispute, a senior administration official said on Tuesday.

Financial stocks led the decline on Wednesday, as investors planned to dump shares in leading brokerage firms, whose stocks slumped as a result. Banking stocks also weakened, after a report that some Chinese banks may face U.S. action in N.Korean sanctions probe. The Hang Seng index added 0.1% to 28,198.68, while the Hong Kong China Enterprises Index gained 0.1% to 10,751.40. ** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 0.17%, while Japan's Nikkei index was down 0.62%.

The yuan was quoted at 6.8896 per U.S. dollar, 0.16% weaker than the previous close of 6.8786. The largest percentage gainers in the main Shanghai Composite index were Shanghai Shenqi Pharmaceutical Investment Management Co Ltd, up 10.06%, followed by Joinn Laboratories China Co Ltd, gaining 10% and TKD Science and Technology Co Ltd, up by 9.98%. The largest percentage losers in the Shanghai index were China Securities Co Ltd, down 10.01%, followed by Jiangsu Xinri E-Vehicle Co Ltd, losing 9.99% and Fujian Longma Environmental Sanitation Equipment Co Ltd , down by 9.98% ** As of 04:28 GMT, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of 28.55% over the Hong Kong-listed H-shares.