HONG KONG: Hong Kong stocks fell in the first few minutes of trade Friday morning as China-US relations returned to the fore after Joe Biden almost doubled the number of Chinese firms included on a Washington investment blacklist.

The Hang Seng Index slipped 0.44 percent, or 128.08 points to 28,837.95.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index sank 0.52 percent, or 18.74 points to 3,565.47, while the Shenzhen Composite Index on China's second exchange eased 0.37 percent, or 8.83 points to 2,383.80.