** China's blue-chip CSI300 Index and the Shanghai Composite Index gained about 0.15% each by 10:26 am local time (0236 GMT) on Monday. Hong Kong benchmark Hang Seng was down roughly 1.5%.
** China's central bank said on Friday it would cut the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves for the first time this year to help keep liquidity ample and support a nascent economic recovery.
** The 25-basis-point reserve requirement ratio (RRR) cut,
effective March 27, reflects "the new government's desire to
send a 'pro-growth' signal and perhaps to be extra cautious on
liquidity management amid significant banking stress overseas,"
Goldman Sachs China economist Hui Shan wrote in a note.
** Risk appetite in Hong Kong, which is more vulnerable to
global market volatility, remains curbed even after Swiss
authorities persuaded UBS Group AG on Sunday to buy rival Credit
Suisse Group AG in a historic deal aimed at stem risk contagion.
** Meanwhile, some of the world's largest central banks came
together on Sunday to stop a banking crisis from spreading.
** Central banks including the U.S. Federal Reserve, the
European Central Bank and Bank of Japan pledged to deepen
support for liquidity, by increasing the frequency of seven-day
dollar-swap operations from weekly to daily.
** Hong Kong's financial stocks fell roughly 1.5%,
while tech shares also dropped.
(Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
