China, HK stocks slip as US-China call offers no clear progress on trade

SHANGHAI, June 6 (Reuters) - China and Hong Kong stocks edged lower on Friday, as investors remained cautious after a call between Washington and Beijing failed to provide clear signals of progress in easing trade tensions.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping confronted weeks of brewing trade tensions and a battle over critical minerals in a rare leader-to-leader call on Thursday, leaving key issues unresolved for future talks.

"If you look at the conversation between Chinese and U.S. presidents, there's nothing concrete that's positive. So little impact on stocks," said Guo Jianwen, partner of Shanghai-based hedge fund Haiyi Capital.

As of 0208 GMT, China's blue-chip CSI300 Index .CSI300 was down 0.1%, while the Shanghai Composite Index .SSEC was flat. Hong Kong benchmark Hang Seng Index .HSI dipped 0.4%.

"The only good news is that things are not getting worse," said William Xin, chairman of Spring Mountain Pu Jiang Investment Management, a Shanghai-based hedge fund.

"If Trump can come to China for a visit in the short term, that would be hugely positive."

Chinese markets have lacked clear direction since April 2, when Trump unveiled sweeping reciprocal tariffs, raising fears of a global trade disruption.

The blue-chip CSI300 Index .CSI300 has barely budged from the April 2 level, and Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index .HSI gained less than 3% during the period, both lagging the recovery seen among major global markets.

Investors should not over-interpret the talk as both sides are still struggling to adapt to each other in a broad confrontational trend, said Charles Wang, chairman, Shenzhen Dragon Pacific Capital Management.

Wang said the most significant takeaway from the leaders' exchange was Xi's warning to Trump against provocative actions on Taiwan, which he interpreted as a signal that Beijing is not preparing for a near-term military move.

Chinese tech American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) KWEB.K rose just 0.85% in New York overnight following the call, while tech majors listed in Hong Kong .HSTECH fell 0.5%.

Onshore non-ferrous metal shares .CSISNMIM gained 1.2%, and materials stocks listed in Hong Kong .HSCIM jumped 2.5%.

For the holiday-shortened week, the CSI 300 Index has gained nearly 1% so far, while the Hang Seng Index rose 2.4%.

China's 10-year and 30-year government bond yields held steady, after the country's central bank said it would inject 1 trillion yuan ($139.23 billion) cash to its banking system via outright reverse repos on Friday.

($1 = 7.1826 Chinese yuan)