Hong Kong shares ease ahead of U.S. jobs data

Techtronic Industries Co

05/07/2019 10:05

* HSI -0.1%, HSCE -0.2%; volume lowest since early Feb
    * Asian markets fall marginally ahead of U.S. jobs data
    * U.S. says China trade talks to resume next week

    HONG KONG, July 5 (Reuters) - The Hong Kong stock market
fell slightly on Friday, amid thin trade, ahead of the release
of U.S. non-farm payrolls data, which could stoke or temper
market expectations about an aggressive policy easing by the
Federal Reserve.
    
** At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index  .HSI  was down by
less than 0.1% at 28,774.83, and up 0.8% week-on-week. The Hang
Seng China Enterprises index  .HSCE , which fell 0.2% on the
day, posted weekly gains of 0.1%.
** The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares
 .HSCIE  was flat, the IT sector  .HSCIIT  lost 0.2%, the
financial sector  .HSNF  ended almost 0.1% lower and the
property sector  .HSNP  rose 0.3%.
** Asian shares hovered near two-month highs on Friday as
investors braced for U.S. employment data.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2461GL
** Local interest rates  HIBOR=  by and large eased but remained
elevated at decade-highs on Friday as investors scrambled for
cash ahead of a jumbo IPO, which is coinciding with the dividend
season.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2450VE urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nH9N21Z01M
** The Hong Kong Dollar  HKD=D3  is pegged to the U.S. Dollar at
a tight range of 7.75-7.85. It stayed on the stronger side of
that band after rallying on Thursday to its firmest level since
2017 as local rates climbed.
** Trading volume in Hong Kong was at its lowest since February
4. About 873.11 million Hang Seng index shares were traded. The
volume traded in the previous trading session was 957.17
million.
** Top representatives of the United States and China are
organising a resumption of talks for next week to try to resolve
a year-long trade war between the world's two largest economies,
Trump administration officials said.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N2441C2
** However, White House Economic Adviser Larry Kudlow sounded
unclear about the timeline for relaunching face-to-face talks,
saying that these would begin "soon".
** The top gainer on the Hang Seng was Techtronic Industries Co
Ltd  0669.HK , which gained 1.4%, while the biggest loser was
Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd  0175.HK , which fell 6.4%.
** At close, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of
29.15% over Hong Kong-listed H-shares.  .HSCAHPI 
    

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