China stocks fall as consumer firms weigh; Hong Kong slips

China stocks fell on Thursday, as top consumer firms weighed, even as investors waited for developments around Sino-U.S. trade talks.

** The CSI300 index fell 0.5%, to 3,875.54 points at the end of the morning session, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.3%, to 3,007.21 points. ** Consumer firm China International Travel Service Corp Ltd slumped 6.1% by lunchbreak, while the CSI300 consumer staples index dropped 1.3%.

** "There is a lack of safety margin in those leading consumer firms whose valuations have substantially gone up as Beijing encourages domestic consumption to bolster growth," said Yan Kaiwen, an analyst with China Fortune Securities. ** Caution remained as market participants kept an eye on the progress of Sino-U.S. trade talks.

** Top representatives from the United States and China are arranging to resume talks next week to try to resolve a year-long trade war between the world's two largest economies, Trump administration officials said on Wednesday. ** The Hang Seng index dropped 0.1%, to 28,824.20 points, while the Hong Kong China Enterprises Index lost 0.1%, to 10,913.88 points.

** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 0.25%, while Japan's Nikkei index was up 0.32%. ** The yuan was quoted at 6.8708 per U.S. dollar, 0.16% firmer than the previous close of 6.8815.

** The largest percentage gainers in the main Shanghai Composite index were Solareast Holdings Co Ltd, up 10.1%, followed by Hualing Xingma Automobile Group Co Ltd , gaining 10.06% and Harbin High-Tech Group Co Ltd , up by 10%. ** The largest percentage losers on the Shanghai index were Seazen Holdings Co Ltd, down 10%, followed by TKD Science and Technology Co Ltd, losing 8.68% and Panda Financial Holding Corp Ltd, down by 6.97%.

** The top gainers among H-shares were ENN Energy Holdings Ltd, up 5.4%, followed by China Gas Holdings Ltd , gaining 4.71% and China Resources Land Ltd, up by 2.84%. ** The three biggest H-shares percentage decliners were New China Life Insurance Co Ltd, which fell 2.73%, Guangzhou Automobile Group Co Ltd, which lost 1.4% and China Resources Beer Holdings Co Ltd, down by 1.3%.

** As of 04:16 GMT, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of 28.91% over the Hong Kong-listed H-shares.