China stocks inch up, HK shares flat as investors await signal on stimulus

China shares eked out small gains and Hong Kong stocks pared early losses to end flat on Thursday, as investors awaited Beijing's stimulus measures that would boost the country's economic recovery.

China shares eked out small gains and Hong Kong stocks pared early losses to end flat on Thursday, as investors awaited Beijing's stimulus measures that would boost the country's economic recovery. ** But gains were capped by worries over a deepening property crisis and concerns about potential spillover from payment woes of shadow banking-linked trust products, analysts said.

** China's blue-chip CSI300 Index rose 0.33%, while the Shanghai Composite Index inched up 0.43%. ** Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng ended down 0.01%, recouping from a more than 2% earlier in the session. The Hang Seng China Enterprise Index was up 0.31%

** China's Cabinet said late Wednesday it would continue to widen policy room for expanding consumption, and strengthen policy coordination to meet this year's economic target. ** Goldman Sachs analysts said in a report earlier this week that more easing measures are expected in coming months, with a combination of monetary, fiscal, housing and consumption.

** Still, "weighing on sentiment is the debt crisis faced by the country's property and (trust) sector," said Kenny Ng, securities strategist, China Everbright Securities International. ** Zhongzhi Enterprise Group told investors it is facing a liquidity crisis and will conduct debt restructuring, Reuters reported, as the Chinese asset manager grappled with a deepening property market downturn.

** The move came after Zhongrong International Trust, which had sizable real estate exposure and is a leading trust company controlled by Zhongzhi, recently missed repayments on some investment products, fuelling contagion fears. ** Hang Seng Mainland Properties Index fell 1.75%.

** Country Garden lost 7.23%, hitting a historical low of 77 cents. ** Bucking the trend, the SSE High-end Equipment Manufacturing 60 Index rose 1.38%

** Defence-related stocks led gains, with Xian Chenxi Aviation Tech and Chengdu Zhimingda Electronics surging 5.1% and 8.5%, respectively.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)