Stocks in the Asia Pacific region closed mostly in the red on Thursday, as optimism over the US-China trade deal faded after Treasury Secretary Mnuchin said negotiators were working on finalizing a Phase 1 trade deal for the Chinese and US presidents to sign next month, but there were no plans for another meeting. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose after the city’s leader Carrie Lam announced measures to ease a housing shortage and calm anti-government protests.
