Hong Kong stocks close lower as protest worries weigh

Shenzhou International group

16/12/2019 08:43

* HK->Shanghai Connect daily quota used 0.6%, Shanghai->HK
daily
quota used 5.6%
    * HSI -0.7%, HSCE -0.6%, CSI300 +0.5%
    * FTSE China A50 -0.3% 

    SHANGHAI, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Hong Kong stocks ended lower on
Monday, as lingering concerns about the anti-government protests
in the Asian financial hub outweighed enthusiasm over an initial
trade deal between Washington and Beijing.

    ** The Hang Seng index  .HSI  fell 0.7% to 27,508.09. The
China Enterprises Index  .HSCE  lost 0.6% to 10,778.89.   
    ** The United States and China cooled their trade war on
Friday, announcing a "Phase one" agreement that reduces some
U.S. tariffs in exchange for what U.S. officials said would be a
big jump in Chinese purchases of American farm products and
other goods.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N28N0NT
    ** The trade optimism, which analysts said was largely
priced in the recent rally, was offset by persistent worries
over the protests. 
    ** Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met with Hong Kong leader
Carrie Lam in Beijing on Monday, saying the Asian financial hub
was not yet out of the "dilemma" facing the city's economy after
months of sometimes violent protests.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N28Q15E 
    ** Investors also awaited the outcome of a potentially
pivotal meeting between Hong Kong's leader and China's president
in Beijing on Monday.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N28Q06D  
    ** In the latest sign of economic damage from the protests,
Hong Kong International Airport reported its biggest fall in
passenger numbers in more than a decade in November.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N28P04X 
    ** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index
 .MIAPJ0000PUS  was firmer by 0.12%, while Japan's Nikkei index
 .N225  closed down 0.29%.
    ** The yuan  CNY=CFXS  was quoted at 7.0035 per U.S. dollar
at 08:10 GMT, 0.02% weaker than the previous close of 7.002. 
    ** At close, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of
27.38% over Hong Kong-listed H-shares.

 (Reporting by the Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Aditya Soni)
 ((luoyan.liu@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging:
luoyan.liu.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))