China stocks extend gains as consumer, healthcare firms rise; Hong Kong flat

SHANGHAI, Jan 22 (Reuters) - China stocks rose Monday morning to new two-year highs, helped by gains in the defensive consumer and healthcare firms as well as a boost from tech shares.

** At 04:05 GMT, the Shanghai Composite index was up 7.54 points or 0.22 percent at 3,495.40. ** China's blue-chip CSI300 index was up 0.75 percent, with its financial sector sub-index lower by 0.08 percent, the consumer staples sector up 1.82 percent, the real estate index up 0.4 percent and healthcare sub-index up 1.25 percent. ** Chinese H-shares listed in Hong Kong eased 0.02 percent to 13,176.8, while the Hang Seng Index was down 0.04 percent at 32,240.78. ** The smaller Shenzhen index was up 0.93 percent and the start-up board ChiNext Composite index was higher by 2.54 percent. ** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was off 0.05 percent while Japan's Nikkei index was down 0.16 percent . ** The yuan was quoted at 6.405 per dollar, 0.03 percent weaker than the previous close of 6.403. ** The largest percentage gainers in the main Shanghai Composite index were Qinghai Spring Medicinal Resources Technology Co Ltd up 10.02 percent, followed by CCS Supply Chain Management Co Ltd gaining 9.96 percent and Triumph Science & Technology Co Ltd up by 8.53 percent. ** The largest percentage losses in the Shanghai index were Hna Innovation Co Ltd down 10.06 percent, followed by Zhejiang Haiyue Co Ltd losing 10.02 percent and HNA Infrastructure Investment Group Co Ltd down 10 percent. ** So far this year, the Shanghai stock index is up 5.46 percent, while China's H-share index is up 12.6 percent. ** The top gainers among H-shares were Byd Co Ltd up 5.48 percent, followed by People's Insurance Group of China Co Ltd gaining 4.35 percent and China Vanke Co Ltd up by 2.58 percent. ** The three biggest H-shares percentage decliners were New China Life Insurance Co Ltd off 1.75 percent, Anhui Conch Cement Co Ltd down 1.5 percent and China Minsheng Banking Corp Ltd 1.3 percent lower. ** About 13.25 billion shares have traded so far on the Shanghai exchange, roughly 77.1 percent of the market's 30-day moving average of 17.18 billion shares a day. The volume traded was 24.75 billion as of the last full trading day. ** As of 04:05 GMT, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of 28.53 percent over the Hong Kong-listed H-shares. ** The Shanghai stock index is above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. ** In Hong Kong, the sub-index of the Hang Seng index tracking energy shares rose 0.3 percent while the IT sector advanced 0.3 percent. The top gainer on Hang Seng was China Resources Land Ltd up 6.36 percent, while the biggest loser was AAC Technologies Holdings Inc which was down 3.09 percent.

(Reporting by Luoyan Liu and John Ruwitch)

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