Hang Seng Index ends day on a weak note

Hong Kong and mainland Chinese stocks ended slightly lower on Friday, as investors remained cautious after a call between President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, failed to provide clear signals of progress in easing trade tensions.

Trump and Xi confronted weeks of brewing trade tensions and a battle over critical minerals in a rare leader-to-leader call on Thursday, leaving key issues unresolved for future talks.

“If you look at the conversation between the Chinese and US presidents, there’s nothing concrete that’s positive. So little impact on stocks,” said Guo Jianwen, partner at Shanghai-based hedge fund Haiyi Capital.

In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index ended trading for the day down 114.43 points, or 0.48 percent, at 23,792.54.

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell 0.63 percent to end at 8,629.75 while the Hang Seng Tech Index fell 0.63 percent to end at 5,286.52.

Across the border, the blue-chip CSI300 Index fell 0.1 percent.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index ended up 0.04 percent at 3,385.36, while the Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.19 percent lower at 10,183.70.

The ChiNext Index, tracking China’s Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, lost 0.45 percent to close at 2,039.43.

For the holiday-shortened week, the CSI 300 Index gained nearly 1 percent, while the Hang Seng Index rose 2.2 percent. (Agencies)