Hong Kong stocks rose on Monday on signs of progress in Sino-US trade talks, but the gains were capped by doubts over the durability of a partial preliminary deal, and lingering worries about China's economy. The Hang Seng index rose 0.8%, to 26,521.85, while the China Enterprises Index gained 0.5%, to 10,507.85 points. Investors welcomed signs of an improvement in trade relations between Washington and Beijing after US President Donald Trump on Friday outlined the first phase of a deal to end the trade war with China and suspended a threatened tariff hike due to take effect on Tuesday.
Investors now wait for a slew of economic data this week, including GDP growth, inflation and industrial output for further clues about the Chinese economy. J.P. Morgan Asset Management's chief market strategist Asia, Tai Hui, said that, although the tentative trade deal "should support risk appetite in the near-term, be positive for equities and tighten corporate credit spreads ... market optimism may not be well supported by economic reality."
The emerging deal, covering agriculture, currency and some aspects of intellectual property protections, would represent the biggest step by the two countries in 15 months to end the tit-for-tat tariff war, though Trump said it could take up to five weeks to get a pact written.
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