China Stocks Experience Slight Dip Amid Trade War Developments

Stocks in China saw a slight decrease on Friday, poised to conclude the week with minimal change. This pause comes after signals from U.S. President Donald Trump hinted at a potential resolution to the ongoing trade disputes between the world’s two largest economies.

The blue-chip CSI300 Index and the Shanghai Composite Index both fell by 0.4%. The CSI300 Index is on track to close the week with a marginal gain of 0.2%.

Trump indicated on Thursday the possibility of ending tariff escalations between the U.S. and China, actions that previously unsettled global markets. He also suggested that a decision regarding the future of TikTok may be delayed.

Since April 2, when Trump first announced reciprocal tariffs, the CSI300 Index has only declined by 3%. This relative stability is attributed to intervention from state-backed investors and daily restrictions on net share sales implemented by local exchanges.

Trading in Hong Kong is suspended due to local holidays and will resume next Tuesday. During the shortened week, the Hang Seng Index increased by 2.3%.

Consumer staple stocks experienced a decline of 1.2%, impacting overall onshore performance, while financial stocks saw a modest increase of 0.4%.

A notable positive performer was the BSE 50 Index, which tracks startups listed in Beijing, rising by 1.5%.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang noted on Thursday that China remains a vital market for Nvidia, despite the U.S. ban on sales of its H20 artificial intelligence chips to the country.

The CSI All Share Semiconductor Index decreased by 1.6%.

Investors are anticipating a press conference scheduled for Monday, where regulators are expected to present their strategy for “expanding opening-up of the service-sector”.