China stocks end higher

Chinese shares rose on Friday to finish the week higher on stronger-than-expected factory activity data and growing optimism around a potential trade deal between the United States and China.

At the close, the Shanghai Composite index was up 1% at 2,958.20, up 0.1% from the previous week. The blue-chip CSI300 index rose 1.7%, up 1.4% week-on-week.

CSI300's financial sector sub-index rose 1.9%, the consumer staples sector was up 0.4%, the real estate index gained 2% and the healthcare sub-index was up 1.7%.

The smaller Shenzhen index ended up 1.3% and the start-up board ChiNext Composite index was higher by 0.9%.

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday the United States and China would soon announce a new site where he and Chinese President Xi Jinping will sign a "Phase One" trade deal after Chile canceled a planned summit set for mid-November.

China's commerce ministry said in a statement on Thursday that bilateral talks will continue to proceed as previously planned and the lead trade negotiators from both countries will speak by telephone on Friday.

Factory activity in China expanded at its fastest pace in more than two years in October as export orders and production rose, a private business survey showed on Friday.

The expansion beat expectations and contrasted with the dour results of an official survey on Thursday.

"The only sector that experienced a correction today was the agricultural one," Gerry Alfonso, an analyst at brokerage Shenwan Hongyuan, wrote in a note.

"The performance of the agricultural sector is likely an indication that the market considers the preliminary trade deal between China and the US as a down deal."

The CSI's agriculture sub-index was off 0.3%.Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 0.4%, while Japan's Nikkei index closed down 0.3%.

The largest percentage gainers in the main Shanghai Composite index were Shanghai Fenghwa Group Co Ltd, up 10.1%, followed by Zhejiang Medicine Co Ltd and Easy Visible Supply Chain Management Co Ltd, both up 10%.

So far this year, the Shanghai stock index is up 18.6% and the CSI300 has risen 31.3%.

About 15.99 billion shares were traded on the Shanghai exchange. The volume in the previous trading session was 16.16 billion. The Shanghai stock index is above its 50-day moving average and above its 200-day moving average.