* SSEC 0.9%, CSI300 0.7%, HSI -0.2%
* HK-> Shanghai Connect daily quota used 3.8%, Shanghai-> HK daily quota used 0.9%
* FTSE China A50 + 0.5%
SHANGHAI, March 22 (Reuters) – China’s stocks climbed on Monday, backed by gains in the banking and infrastructure sectors after the country’s central bank reversed its key lending rate.
** The CSI300 index rose 0.7% to 5,042.82 points at the end of the morning session, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.9% to 3,435.41 points.
** Leading the gains, the CSI300 bank index rose 2.1%, while the CSI300 infrastructure index added 2.6%.
** “Buyers, healthcare and new energy stocks have recently seen corrections, and financial stocks could support the market, helping to encourage long-term slow bull run,” said Hu Yunlong, chief investment officer of Beijing Kaixing Asset Management Company
** “The market is still looking for direction, which remains unclear for now, as institutional investors continue to change their positions,” he said.
** China kept its benchmark lending rate for corporate and housing loans unchanged for just 11 months at its March on Monday, in line with market targets.
** China’s monetary policy needs to focus on supporting economic growth in a targeted way and also reducing financial risks, the central bank chief said.
** Sino-US friendship remained a focal point for investors.
** US President Joe Biden will be “good for the friendship” between China and the United States, even though both sides may have “started a little on the freezing side”, said the former Secretary of Defense. USA William Cohen to a forum in Beijing.
** China and the United States will set up a joint working group on climate change, China’s official Xinhua news agency said, in a potentially promising takeaway from an unusually high-level meeting.
** In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index fell 0.2% to 28,939.53 points, while the Hong Kong China Enterprise Index gained 0.4% to 11,331.77 points. (Reporting by Luoyan Liu and Andrew Galbraith; Editing by Devika Syamnath)