China stocks end flat as lending data offsets index exclusion decision

** Fu said the market found support form a slew of data pointing to a solid recovery in the world's second-largest economy. ** Shares of the 10 companies to be removed from S&P's indices closed mixed, with surveillance camera maker Hikvision ending up 3%.

Chinese shares closed flat on Thursday as better-than-expected bank lending data countered a decision by S&P Dow Jones Indices to remove some Chinese companies including Hikvision from its products. ** The blue-chip CSI300 index was unchanged at 4,940.52, while the Shanghai Composite Index ended flat at 3,373.28.

** Consumer and healthcare firms gained, with the CSI300 healthcare index and the CSI300 consumer discretionary index closing up 0.9% and 0.5%, respectively. ** S&P DJI said it would remove A-shares, H-shares and ADRs of 10 companies, including Hikvision and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp , from all equity indices prior to the market open on Dec. 21.

** "The impact of the exclusion would be very limited and short-term on the whole A-share market, as there are still expectations of improvement in Sino-U.S. relations when Biden takes the office," said Fu Yanping, an analyst with China Galaxy Securities. ** Fu said the market found support form a slew of data pointing to a solid recovery in the world's second-largest economy.

** Shares of the 10 companies to be removed from S&P's indices closed mixed, with surveillance camera maker Hikvision ending up 3%. ** "The removal does not have impact on those firms' fundamentals, while foreign holdings in them are also small," said Jin Jing, an analyst with Caitong Securities.

** China's new bank loans rose more than expected in November, while broad credit growth eased, as the central bank maintained an accommodative stance amid the global pandemic. ** Julian Evans-Pritchard at Capital Economics said in a note that the economy had reached "a turning point in the credit cycle" and loan quotas were being tightened.

** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 0.42%, while Japan's Nikkei index closed down 0.23%. ** At 07:35 GMT, the yuan was quoted at 6.547 per U.S. dollar, 0.03% weaker than the previous close of 6.545.