Hong Kong stocks waver as traders focus on US tariff threats, ignore China trade data

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Hong Kong stocks fluctuated on Monday as traders weighed renewed US tariff threats against better-than-expected China trade data.

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The Hang Seng Index rose 0.1 per cent to 24,148.71 as of 10.05am local time after dropping as much as 0.2 per cent. The Hang Seng Tech Index fell 0.1 per cent. On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index advanced 0.3 per cent, while the CSI 300 Index was little changed.

Electric-car maker Li Auto gained 2.8 per cent to HK$111.90, while coal miner Zijin Mining Group advanced 3.3 per cent to HK$20.65 and China Shenhua Energy added 4.2 per cent to HK$32.20.

The laggards included search-engine operator Baidu, which slumped 3.1 per cent to HK$83.85, while e-commerce leader JD.com slid 1.5 per cent to HK$121.40 and online travel platform Trip.com eased 1.4 per cent to HK$481.20.

US President Donald Trump on Friday proposed raising baseline tariffs on imports to 15 to 20 per cent, and later threatened 30 per cent duties on goods from the European Union and Mexico from August 1, despite ongoing talks.

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China’s exports in yuan terms rose 7.2 per cent year on year from January to June, official data released on Monday morning showed, beating a 5 per cent increase forecast by Bloomberg, as exporters took advantage of a 90-day tariff truce to speed up their shipments. The figure follows a 4.8 per cent growth in May.