Hong Kong stocks log 7th weekly gain on China data, trade deal

Hong Kong stocks rose on Friday and posted their seventh straight weekly gain, as investors cheered signs of economic recovery on the mainland as well as the signing of a Sino-U.S. trade deal earlier this week.

** The Hang Seng index climbed 0.6%, to 29,056.42, while the China Enterprises Index gained 0.8%, to 11,419.91. ** For the week, HSI was up 1.5%, while HSCE climbed 1.4%, both up for the seventh week in a row.

** China's economic growth slowed to its weakest in nearly 30 years in 2019 amid the bruising trade war and sputtering investment, and more stimulus steps are expected this year to help avert a sharper slowdown. ** But data also showed the world's second-largest economy ended the year on a firmer note as trade tensions eased, suggesting a raft of growth-boosting measures over the past two years may finally be starting to take hold.

** Analysts and investors believe more signs of modest recovery in China's economy would help bolster confidence in capital markets. ** Strong gains on Wall Street following the signing of the trade deal also helped boost risk appetite in the Asian financial hub, which is closely linked with U.S. markets.

** China will boost purchases of U.S. goods and services by $200 billion over two years in exchange for the rolling back of some tariffs under the initial trade deal. ** The principle that ensures Hong Kong enjoys freedoms unavailable in mainland China can continue beyond its 2047 expiry date as long as the city's youngsters do not destroy it with "temporary misunderstandings," Chief Executive Carrie Lam said on Thursday.

** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 0.37%, while Japan's Nikkei index closed up 0.45%. ** The yuan was quoted at 6.8625 per U.S. dollar at 08:10 GMT, 0.25% firmer than the previous close of 6.88.

** At close, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of 25.03% over Hong Kong-listed H-shares.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)