Chinese stocks rise, led by property shares, but HK pulls back

China's stock indexes rose for a fifth straight day on Thursday, boosted by strength in property shares after Reuters reported Beijing was relaxing financing rules for listed property firms.

By midday the CSI300 of the leading Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listings had added 0.2 percent, while the Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.3 percent to 2,294.51, setting a 15-month high.

The CSI property sub-index had gained 0.7 percent by midday, with shares in China Vanke, the country's largest residential developer, rising 2 percent and Poly Real Estate Group Co Ltd up 1.2 percent.

Reuters reported on Wednesday that listed developers would be allowed to issue medium-term notes to fund residential housing projects, supplement companies' operating cash flow and repay bank loans.

"This news did support property shares," said Du Changchun at Northeast Securities in Shanghai. "But in the long term, it will not be as strong a sector as it used to be."

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index was down 0.3 percent at 25,249.49 after a strong start and the China Enterprises Index of the top Chinese listings in Hong Kong rose 0.6 percent.

"There's a little bit of a pull-back and correction after yesterday's rally," said Mark To, head of research at Hong Kong's Wing Fung Financial Group. "In terms of the overall sentiment, views regarding whether it's going to have a further rally or to have some more correction at this level are really quite mixed."

Some investors are concerned that stocks expected to benefit from the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect may come under pressure due to profit-taking as the launch date of the programme draws near, To added.

China Mobile added 0.3 percent, hovering around a six-year high. The telecom giant posted strong gains in the previous two sessions after it started to take pre-orders for a new 4G cellphone, which is expected to be iPhone 6.

Shares in China Overseas Grand Oceans jumped 3.7 percent, Sunac China Holdings Ltd surged 7.0 percent and Kaisa Group Holdings 2.8 percent. Tianjin-city-related shares found support after news that Chinese Premier Li Keqiang would speak at the 2014 New Leaders Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Tianjin on September 10.

Analysts said the meeting had sparked speculation the government would develop a Free Trade Zone in Tianjin.

Four Tianjin-related companies jumped by their 10 percent daily limit, including Jinbin Development Co Ltd, Tianjin Tianbao Infrastructure Co Ltd and Tianjin Marine Shipping Co Ltd.