The Hong Kong shares rose on Friday amid optimism the United States and China were moving toward resolving their protracted trade dispute, and as technology and property stocks rallied. The Hang Seng index settled 1.3 percent higher at 27,090.81 points. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index rose 1.2 percent.
The Hang Seng is up 1.6 percent for the week, while H-shares climbed 1.7 percent. Both indices ticked up for a third week. The Hang Seng finished the session above the 27,000-point barrier on Friday, having breached that level on Thursday, and stood at its strongest point since early December, when Beijing and Washington agreed to a truce in the trade war.
The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares rose 1.1 percent and the financial sector ended 1.04 percent higher. The top gainer on the Hang Seng was Sunny Optical Technology Group Co Ltd, up 7.7 percent, while the biggest loser was China Resources Power Holdings Co Ltd, which fell 2.5 percent. Liu He, Chinese vice premier and top economic adviser to President Xi Jinping, will visit Washington for the next round of trade talks on January 30 and 31.