HK slips as summit pessimism dogs mainland stocks

Mainland stocks logged their worst day in a month on Thursday as investors remained sceptical that a meeting between President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, in Washington would produce a broader breakthrough. In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index lost 72 points, or 0.29 percent, to end at 24,761. The tech index was almost 18 points, or 0.41 percent, down at 4,361 while the China enterprises index was seven points, or 0.09 percent, lower at 8,266. Energy, banking and shipping stocks listed in Hong Kong outperformed, offsetting some of the losses in the SAR market. On the mainland, the blue-chip CSI300 Index fell 1.7 percent while the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed down 48 points, or 1.22 percent, at 3,888, with both indices marking their biggest one-day drop in a month. The Shenzhen Component Index fell 319 points, or 2.34 percent, to 13,316 while the ChiNext Index plunged 90 points, or 2.68 percent, to 3,288. Trump welcomed Xi to Washington on Wednesday for a three-day visit that will test relations between the two superpowers. Xi's first trip to the United States in nearly three years was not expected to yield major breakthroughs, but US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the two countries agreed...