Asian markets mixed as Hang Seng flirts with milestone

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index (HSI) opened up 0.5% — briefly breaching 28,000 for the first time in nearly five months — before trimming gains slightly. The index has been volatile this year, plunging 9% in the third quarter as the city's protests and the US-China trade war weighed on sentiment. It then recovered losses in the fourth quarter and is now up 8% for the year.

Japan's Nikkei 225 (N225) ticked 0.1% higher, while South Korea's Kospi (KOSPI) dipped 0.2%. China's Shanghai Composite (SHCOMP) inched up 0.1% in choppy trading.

China announced Saturday that President Xi Jinping spoke on the phone with US President Donald Trump and discussed the 'phase one' trade deal. The two agreed to stay in contact.

Trump also said in a tweet that he had a "very good talk" with Xi, adding that the formal signing of the deal was "being arranged."

Alibaba rose 1.2% to 209.40 Hong Kong dollars ($26.86) in early trading. The stock has soared 19% above its listing price since its debut November 26.

Kingsoft Corporation, a Chinese software developer, advanced 2.6% in Hong Kong after the company said it wants to spin off its cloud computing service unit and list it separately in New York.

It's a shortened trading week for some markets in the region. Hong Kong markets will be closed starting Tuesday afternoon and will reopen Friday. South Korean markets will also shut down Christmas Day.

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