China stocks mixed ahead of global index inclusion, IPOs; Hong Kong down 

* CSI300 -0.5 pct; SSEC +0.2 pct; HSI -0.6 pct

* Limited impact seen in FTSE’s moves to include A shares

* Wave of IPOs next week could freeze 5 trln yuan -analysts

China stocks ended Wednesday morning mixed as the market, facing a fresh flood of new share offerings, gave a lukewarm welcome to FTSE Russell’s reception of mainland-listed equities into its indexes.

The CSI300 index fell 0.5 percent, to 5,173.44 points at the end of the morning while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.2 percent, to 4,918.79 points.

Hong Kong stocks had a weak tone, with the Hang Seng index and the Hong Kong China Enterprises Index both slipping 0.6 percent.

Index provider FTSE Russell said after Tuesday’s market close that it will launch two transitional indexes that include China A shares – a staggered approach that will bring local Chinese shares into its global emerging markets benchmark in two to three years.

Launch of the indexes, which will have an initial weighting of 5 percent for China A shares – has limited impact on China’s stock market, said Shen Zhengyang, Shanghai-based analyst at Northeast Securities.

“Such a measure might bring in only a small amount of money, which is nothing compared with China’s huge turnover,” he said.

Turnover in Chinese stocks hit 2 trillion yuan ($322.31 billion) on Tuesday, making China’s stock market the world’s most heavily-traded.

“All eyes now are on whether China stocks will be included in the MSCI index, which is more important,” Shen said, referring to a June 9 decision by MSCI Inc on whether to include China A shares in its influential emerging markets benchmark – against which some $1.7 trillion of funds is tracked.

Analysts say after six straight days of gains for the CSI300 and SSEC, some investors are taking profit, while others are reducing holdings before a wave of initial public offerings (IPO).

Next Tuesday and Wednesday, 23 companies including nuclear giant China National Nuclear Power Co Ltd will start taking IPO subscriptions. Some analysts expect this to freeze nearly freeze nearly 5 trillion yuan of liquidity.

But the early-morning correction eased by midday, after data showed Chinese industrial sector profits in April had their first annual rise since September, offering some hope China’s economy could be bottoming out.

Military sector stocks remained bullish, after Beijing on Tuesday outlined an ambitious defence strategy to boost its naval reach, and vowed to increase its “open seas protection”, switching from air defence to both offence and defence.

China Satellite, Sichuan Chengfei Technology Integration and aviation defence heavyweight AVIC Aircraft surged for a second day.

Source: Reuters – China stocks mixed ahead of global index inclusion, IPOs; Hong Kong down

---