Hong Kong shares end higher on upbeat China data

Hong Kong shares rose on Monday after China's upbeat retail sales and factory output numbers pointed to some stabilization in the world's second-largest economy, and as China's second-quarter economic growth met expectations.

** At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index was up 83.26 points, or 0.29%, at 28,554.88. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index rose 0.47% to 10,838.99.

** The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares  rose 0.1%, while the IT sector gained 1.37%, the financial sector ended 0.01% lower and the property sector dipped 0.28%.

** China's economic growth slowed to 6.2% in the second quarter, its weakest pace in at least 27 years, as demand at home and abroad faltered in the face of mounting U.S. trade pressure.

** But it was in line with analysts' expectations for the slowest pace since the first quarter of 1992, the earliest quarterly data on record, and more upbeat June factory output and retail sales offered signs of improvement.

** The top gainer in the Hang Seng was CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd, which gained 7%, while the biggest loser was CK Asset Holdings Ltd, which fell 1.31%.

** China's main Shanghai Composite index closed up 0.4% at 2,942.19 points, while the blue-chip CSI300 index ended up 0.41%.

** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index  was firmer by 0.28%.

** The yuan was quoted at 6.8751 per U.S. dollar at 08:24 GMT, 0.08% firmer than the previous close of 6.8805.

** The top gainers among H-shares were CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd, up 7%, followed by ANTA Sports Products Ltd , gaining 2.92%, and Anhui Conch Cement Co Ltd , up by 2.53%.

** The three biggest H-shares percentage decliners were China National Building Material Co Ltd, which was down 1.91%, Bank of Communications Co Ltd, which fell 0.84%, and Longfor Group Holdings Ltd, down by 0.80%.

** About 1.36 billion Hang Seng index shares were traded, roughly 89% of the market's 30-day moving average of 1.53 billion shares a day. The volume traded in the previous trading session was 1.24 billion.

** At close, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of 28.29% over Hong Kong-listed H-shares.