Hong Kong stocks end lower for second day on Sino-U.S. trade deal concerns

Hengan International

21/11/2019 08:49

* HK->Shanghai Connect daily quota used -0.2%, Shanghai->HK
daily
quota used 6.4%
    * HSI -1.6%, HSCE -1.6%, CSI300 -0.5%
    * FTSE China A50 -0.7% 

    Nov 21 (Reuters) - Hong Kong stocks closed lower for a
second day on Thursday, as a fresh row between Washington and
Beijing over a U.S. bill backing protesters stoked concerns that
trade talks could hit a snag and delay the "phase one" deal.
    
    ** The Hang Seng index  .HSI  fell 1.6% to 26,466.88, while
the China Enterprises Index  .HSCE  lost 1.6% to 10,450.22.    
    ** The Hong Kong issue is definitely a negative factor in
the trade talks, Zhang Yansheng, principal researcher at the
state-affiliated think-tank China Center for International
Economic Exchanges, said at the Bloomberg forum.
    ** The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed two
bills to back protesters in Hong Kong and send a warning to
China about human rights, with President Donald Trump expected
to sign them into law, while in the middle of trade negotiations
with Beijing.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N2800W2  
    ** Completion of a "phase one" U.S.-China trade deal could
be pushed into next year, trade experts and people close to the
White House said, as Beijing presses for more extensive tariff
rollback, and the Trump administration counters with heightened
demands of its own.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N2800YS 
    ** China will strive to reach a "phase one" trade agreement
with the United States as both sides keep communication channels
open, the Chinese commerce ministry said on Thursday, in an
attempt to allay fears talks might be unravelling.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N2811ZV 
    ** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index
 .MIAPJ0000PUS  was weaker by 1.05%, while Japan's Nikkei index
 .N225  closed down 0.48%.
    ** The yuan  CNY=CFXS  was quoted at 7.037 per U.S. dollar
at 08:17 GMT, 0.01% weaker than the previous close of 7.0364. 
    ** At close, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of
28.07% over Hong Kong-listed H-shares.

 (Reporting by the Shanghai Newsroom; editing by Uttaresh.V)
 ((luoyan.liu@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging:
luoyan.liu.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))