Hong Kong shares flat as investors await fresh cues

Techtronic Industries Co

03/05/2019 05:55

* Hang Seng flat, H-shares -0.1 pct; China closed for
holiday
    * U.S. jobs data due; Wall St dragged by overnight losses in
oil 
    * Profit at blue-chip HSBC  0500.HK  comes in above
estimates

    HONG KONG, May 3 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares were trading
flat on Friday as investors awaited U.S. jobs data, while
mainland Chinese markets remained closed for Labour Day holiday.
** At midday, the Hang Seng index was pretty much unchanged at
29,937.73 points. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index  .HSCE 
dipped 0.1 percent.
** The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares
 .HSCIE  fell 0.9 percent, the IT sector  .HSCIIT  lost 0.3
percent, the financial sector  .HSNF  was trading flat, while
property stocks  .HSNP  edged 0.1 percent higher.
** China financial markets are shut for Labour Day holiday.
Trading will resume on Monday, May 6. 
** To mark the ascension of Japan's new emperor, the government
had declared an unprecedented 10-day holiday from late April to
early May. Japan markets will be back in action on May 7.
** On Wall Street, the Dow and S&P gave up initial gains and
turned negative as the energy sector  .SPNY  weakened.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N22E6AY
** HSBC Holdings PLC  HSBA.L   0005.HK  posted on Friday a 31
percent rise in first-quarter profit, beating estimates,
bolstered by a surge in income in its core Asian business and as
the bank managed to rein in costs.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N22D1U7
** Global investors await the release of April's U.S. nonfarm
payrolls, due later in the day, which probably increased by
185,000 jobs last month after rising 196,000 in March, according
to a Reuters survey of economists.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N22E1H0
** The United States and China are nearing a trade deal that
would roll back a portion of the $250 billion in U.S. tariffs on
Chinese goods, Politico reported on Wednesday after U.S.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the two countries
completed "productive" talks in Beijing.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N22D04T
** The top gainer on the Hang Seng was Techtronic Industries Co
Ltd  0669.HK , which gained 3 percent, while the biggest loser
was CNOOC Ltd  0883.HK , which dropped 2 percent.
** The top gainers among H-shares were Shenzhou International
Group Holdings Ltd  2313.HK , which rose 2.6 percent, followed
by China Railway Group Ltd  0390.HK , which gained 2.3 percent
and Anhui Conch Cement Co Ltd  0914.HK , up by 1.5 percent.
** The three biggest H-shares percentage decliners were CNOOC
Ltd  0883.HK , which slipped 2 percent, Air China Ltd  0753.HK ,
which dropped 1.2 percent and China Cinda Asset Management Co
Ltd  1359.HK , down by 1 percent.
** The short and one-factor leveraged Hang Seng index  .HSISI ,
which is designed to replicate the payoff of a short or
leveraged portfolio and is linked to the movements of the Hang
Seng Index, was higher by 0.02 percent on the day at 4,604.8
points.

 (Reporting by Noah Sin, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
 ((noah.sin@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging:
noah.sin.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))