China stocks slide as liquor, financial firms retreat; Hong Kong up

SHANGHAI: China stocks slipped on Friday, weighed down by liquor and financial stocks, after data showed the country's broader credit growth slowed in May.

** The CSI300 index fell 0.8% to 5,230.86 points at the end of the morning session, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.3% to 3,601.82 points.

** Falling the most, the CSI300 liquor index dropped 2.7% on persistent worries over lofty valuations.

** Jiangsu Yanghe Brewery, Beijing Shunxin Agriculture and Xinghuacun Fen Wine dropped between 1.7% and 10.0%.

** "China's Jan-May bond issuance fell short of expectations, indicating acceleration of issuance from June, which could decrease money flows into the equities market," said Luo Huibiao, an investment advisor from Guosen Securities.

** Caution also prevailed ahead of a three-day Dragon Festival holiday, which starts from Saturday.

** China's new bank loans unexpectedly rose in May from the previous month, but broader credit growth continued to slow as the central bank seeks to contain rising debt.

** Top Chinese leaders have repeatedly vowed to avoid any sharp policy turns, keeping borrowing costs low and telling banks to maintain support for small firms, while being more watchful about extending credit to hot areas of the economy.

** "The slowdown in credit growth is happening even faster than we had been anticipating a couple of months ago," Julian Evans-Pritchard at Capital Economics said in a note.

** Bucking the broad retreat, shares in China's Zhejiang-based listed firms jumped, as investors cheered Beijing's latest policy support for the province.

** In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index added 0.4% to 28,851.00 points, while the Hong Kong China Enterprises Index gained 0.1% to 10,729.73.

** HK-listed shares of Italian luxury fashion group Prada SpA hit a near seven-year high after Citi raised the target price.