China shares reversed gains to end lower on Friday as a Reuters report suggesting White House officials opposed rolling back tariffs on Beijing raised uncertainty around the first phase of a trade deal.
** The Shanghai Composite index closed down 0.5% at 2,964.18, the lowest close since November 1. The index inched up 0.2% from the previous week. ** The blue-chip CSI300 index was also down 0.5% on Friday, but gained 0.5% for the week. ** CSI300’s financial sector sub-index fell 1%, the consumer staples sector lost 0.2% and the real estate index was down 0.8%. ** The smaller Shenzhen index ended down 0.2% and the start-up board ChiNext Composite index was weaker by 0.3%. ** Shares were pressured as multiple sources told Reuters on Thursday the plan to cancel tariffs faces fierce internal opposition in the White House and from outside advisers. ** On Thursday, U.S. and Chinese officials said the two countries will roll back tariffs on each others’ goods in a “phase one” trade deal if it is completed. ** Stocks had also rebounded briefly in late morning trade after data showed China’s exports and imports contracted less than expected in October, providing some relief for the export-reliant economy. ** Global index provider MSCI said on Thursday Chinese A-shares will rise to a weight of 4.1% in the MSCI Emerging Market Index, up from 2.55% currently, as it implements the final step of the market’s weight increase in the benchmark. ** MSCI will also add a list of Chinese mid-caps as planned, the index provider said in a statement following its November semi-annual index review. ** The latest round of inclusions will bring $7 billion of passive inflows, with $3.6 billion going to large caps and $3.3 billion to other added shares, Zhang He, an Asia Pacific index research analyst at J.P. Morgan, said in a note. ** Around the region, MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 0.5%, while Japan’s Nikkei index closed up 0.3%. ** So far this year, the Shanghai stock index is up 18.9% and the CSI300 has risen almost 32%. Shanghai stocks have risen 1.2% this month. ** About 14.97 billion shares were traded on the Shanghai exchange. The volume in the previous trading session was 13.70 billion. ** The Shanghai stock index is above its 50-day moving average and above its 200-day moving average. (Reporting by Noah Sin; editing by Uttaresh.V)
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