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Chinese and Hong Kong markets fell Thursday as investors assessed the first in-person meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping since Trump began his second term. Mainland China’s CSI 300 fell 0.8% to end at 4,709.9, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.24% to 26,282.69, reversing earlier gains, after the meeting concluded. Trump said he had reached a one-year agreement with China on rare earths and other critical minerals, and that Washington will cut fentanyl-related tariffs on Beijing to 10% after their meeting in South Korea. Other Asia-Pacific markets were mixed on Thursday, after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicated that a rate cut in December was far from a “foregone conclusion.” The Fed on Wednesday slashed the benchmark federal funds rate by 25 basis points, as expected, to bring it to 3.75%-4%. South Korea’s markets will also be in focus after Seoul’s chief policy advisor Kim Yong-beom reportedly released details of the trade deal with Washington. South Korea will invest $200 billion in the U.S., with an annual cap of $20 billion a year, while the remaining $150 billion of its $350 billion total pledge announced earlier this year will be used for shipbuilding cooperation, according to local media reports. The Kospi added 0.14%, with gains seen in auto and shipbuilding stocks, to close at a fresh record of 4,086.89, while the small-cap Kosdaq fell 1.19% to 890.86.
