Hong Kong's benchmark stock index ended slightly higher on Friday, but posted its biggest weekly loss in three months amid escalating trade tensions between Beijing and Washington. The Hang Seng index rose 0.2 percent to 29,338.70, while the China Enterprises Index lost 0.2 percent to 11,339.87 points.
For the week, the Hang Seng lost 3.2 percent, its worse weekly performance since late March. Investors are increasingly worried that the US and China are heading for full-blown trade war, following the US president's fresh tariff announcement against China last week, and threats of more action if China retaliates.
The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares dipped 0.2 percent while the IT sector rose 0.28 percent, the financial sector was 0.01 percent higher and property sector rose 0.14 percent. The top gainer on Hang Seng was Hengan International Group Company Ltd up 3.35 percent, while the biggest loser was PetroChina Co Ltd which was down 1.04 percent.
As of the previous trading session, the Hang Seng index was down 2.08 percent this year, while China's H-share index was down 2.9 percent. As of the previous close, the Hang Seng has declined 3.85 percent this month.
The top gainers among H-shares were Hengan International Group Company Ltd up 3.35 percent, followed by BYD Co Ltd gaining 2.67 percent and China Gas Holdings Ltd up by 2.52 percent.
The three biggest H-shares percentage decliners were Air China Ltd which was down 3.34 percent, Postal Savings Bank of China Co Ltd which fell 2.2 percent and Great Wall Motor Co Ltd down by 1.6 percent.
About 2.22 billion Hang Seng index shares were traded, roughly 117.8 percent of the market's 30-day moving average of 1.88 billion shares a day. The volume traded in the previous trading session was 2.09 billion.