HK slips as summit pessimism dogs mainland stocks

Mainland stocks plummeted on Thursday, marking their worst day in a month as investors remained skeptical about a meeting between President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump in Washington. The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong fell 0.29 percent to 24,761, while tech and China enterprises indices slipped 0.41 percent and 0.09 percent respectively.

Hong Kong's energy, banking, and shipping stocks managed to outperform, partially offsetting the losses. On the mainland, the CSI300 Index fell 1.7 percent, and the Shanghai Composite Index closed down 1.22 percent, marking their biggest one-day drop in a month. The Shenzhen Component Index declined 2.34 percent to 13,316, and the ChiNext Index plunged 2.68 percent to 3,288.

Trump's visit to Washington aimed to test relations between the two superpowers, with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stating that both countries agreed to extend a trade truce by two months, though it was shorter than market expectations for a one-year extension. The absence of a Chinese business delegation during Xi's visit weighed on sentiment.

Most sectors were lower by midday, led by gold equities, non-ferrous metal, and AI hardware stocks. Wall Street also saw a broad selloff as higher oil prices and rising US Treasury yields dampened sentiment. Despite these losses, some investors remain cautiously optimistic, noting that Trump's pragmatic approach and understanding of global economic dynamics could foster a shift from confrontation to mutual understanding and co-existence in US-China relations.