Hong Kong stocks rebound a bit after turbulent week

Although the index closed higher Friday, it slid nearly 4.8% overall last week. That was the Hang Seng’s biggest weekly drop since August. The city has been rattled by violent protests that escalated in recent days. The local economy has also been hit. The Hong Kong government warned Friday that mass protests could cause the economy to shrink by 1.3% this year, which would mark the first annual recession since 2009.Elsewhere in the region, markets were relatively muted. Japan’s Nikkei 225 (N225) edged up 0.3% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index (SHCOMP) inched up 0.1%. South Korea’s Kospi Index (KOSPI), though, slipped 0.2%.Investors may be looking for more news on trade. Wall Street’s major indexes all closed in the green on Friday in part because of US-China trade optimism. Over the weekend, China’s Ministry of Commerce said that Chinese and US negotiators had held a “constructive discussion” about a phase one deal.SoftBank (SFTBF) announced Monday a plan to merge its unit Z Holdings, formerly Yahoo Japan, with messaging service operator Line Corp in 2020.Z Holdings (YAHOY) and Line Corp (LN) briefly surged 5% and 3.2%, respectively in Tokyo. They were last up 1.7% and 2.2% each.US futures, meanwhile, slightly retreated during Asian trading hours on Monday. Futures for the Dow (INDU), S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) were all down.