** China's blue-chip CSI300 Index dropped 0.2% by the lunch break, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.1%.
** Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index and the China Enterprises Index both climbed 0.7%.
** Regional U.S. lender First Citizens BancShares scooped up the assets of failed peer Silicon Valley Bank on
Monday, allaying investor fears of deeper banking sector stress
and prompting a rally in bank shares, while global stocks also
rose
** Additionally, the Federal Reserve's top regulatory
official plans to tell Congress that regulators are committed to
ensuring all U.S. bank deposits are safe.
** Financial shares traded in Hong Kong rose 1.2%, with HSBC Holdings and AIA Group up 1.6% and 1.9%, respectively.
** Hong Kong tech stocks climbed 0.5%, with Tencent up 4.1%.
** Foreign investors recorded a net selling of 1.67 billion
yuan ($242.7 million) of Chinese stocks via the Stock Connect by
midday, despite Premier Li Qiang telling foreign business
executives that the country would open up further.
** Premier Li also said China will maintain a certain level
of economic expansion as it accelerates a transition towards
higher quality growth, Chinese state media reported.
** In China, sector performances were mixed. Semiconductor and artificial intelligence stocks lost 1.8% and 1.3%, respectively, while liquor and
consumer staples shares were each up 1.3% and 0.9%.
** RongSheng Petrochemical Co Ltd rose 10% after
Saudi Aramco signed agreements to acquire 10% of the Chinese
refining giant. CSI Energy Index was up 0.6%.
($1 = 6.8815 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Sonia Cheema)
