China stocks post 3rd weekly gain on Sino-U.S. trade deal
20/12/2019 07:32
SHANGHAI, Dec 20 (Reuters) - China stocks eased on Friday,
but posted their third straight weekly gain on improving
relations between Washington and Beijing after they reached an
initial trade deal last week.
** The blue-chip CSI300 index .CSI300 fell 0.3%, to
4,017.25, while the Shanghai Composite Index .SSEC shed 0.4%,
to 3,004.94.
** For the week, CSI300 gained 1.2%, while SSEC was up
1.23%.
** U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Thursday
the United States and China would sign their so-called Phase one
trade pact at the beginning of January, adding that it was
completely finished and just undergoing a technical "scrub."
urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N28T0XR
** China on Thursday unveiled a new list of import tariff
exemptions for six chemical and oil products from the United
States, days after the world's two largest economies announced
the initial trade deal. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N28T1NH
** On Friday, overseas investors bought into the A-share
market for the 27th straight session, their longest spell of
buying this year. The robust flows helped power the country's
tech names to record highs, as Beijing vows to build its own
tech capabilities. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N28S0YX
** As the initial trade deal removed some of the uncertainty
over the Sino-U.S. tariff dispute, investors turned their focus
to the health of the world's largest economy and Beijing's
policy moves.
** China's economy could face more downward pressure in 2020
than it did this year, but the government will take steps to
keep growth within a reasonable range, state television on
Thursday quoted Premier Li Keqiang as saying. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N28T31J
** Economic growth slowed to a near 30-year low in the third
quarter, however, policymakers have been more cautious about
growth-boosting measures than in past downturns.
** China stood pat on its lending benchmark rate on Friday,
as widely expected, after the central bank kept borrowing costs
of medium-term loans steady earlier this month. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N28U0K6
** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index
.MIAPJ0000PUS was weaker by 0.13%, while Japan's Nikkei index
.N225 was down 0.20%.
** The yuan CNY=CFXS was quoted at 7.0151 per U.S. dollar,
0.07% weaker than the previous close of 7.01.
** So far this year, the Shanghai stock index is up 21%,
while China's H-share index is up 8.5%. Shanghai stocks have
risen 5% this month.
** As of 07:16 GMT, China's A-shares were trading at a
premium of 26.60% over the Hong Kong-listed H-shares.
(Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
((luoyan.liu@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging:
luoyan.liu.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))