China stocks end lower on profit taking; eyes on Trump-Xi meeting
Updates to market close
SHANGHAI, May 12 (Reuters) - China stocks edged lower from an 11-year high on Tuesday, as investors took profits and turned their focus to a highly anticipated meeting between the world's two largest economies this week.
Hong Kong shares were also down.
** China's blue-chip CSI300 Index .CSI300 ended 0.1% lower, while the Shanghai Composite Index .SSEC lost 0.3%. Hong Kong benchmark Hang Seng .HSI was down 0.2%.
** U.S. President Donald Trump is set to meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on May 14-15, the first since they paused a bruising trade war in October.
** China and the United States should take a long-term view and allow trade to continue serving as "the ballast and propeller" of bilateral relations, while constantly opening up new areas for cooperation, state media said in an editorial on Tuesday.
** Consumer staples .CSICS and rare earth .CSI930598 shares fell 1.5% and 3.2%, respectively, leading declines onshore.
** UBS analyst Meng Lei said a recovery in earnings growth and various liquidity support measures will continue to drive onshore shares' upward momentum.
** The Shanghai Composite Index's breakthrough of a key psychological level of 4200 points is not an endpoint, but rather a step in the market's ongoing upward trajectory as it breaks through successive resistance levels, Meng said.
** Onshore artificial intelligence shares .CSI930713 rose 0.8% against a broad decline. Semiconductor shares .CSIH30184 extended gains, up 0.5%, to a record high.
** Chinese short-video platform Kuaishou Technology's 1024.HK stock jumped as much as 11% on a report that the firm plans to spin off Kling AI.
** Materials .HSCIM and energy .HSCIE shares rose in Hong Kong, up 1.1% and 1.4%, respectively. Tech majors .HSTECH fell 0.7%.
