"HK stocks climb 0.7 pct | AboutHK.Com - more information about HK"
|  HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares gained 0.7 percent as investors bought selectively, even as the lack of conviction in a global economic recovery kept turnover thin.
A dry spell for positive news on the global economy has forced fund managers into wait-and-see mode following a four-month winning stretch by the market.
"Investors are still hesitant to give up on the market and miss their chance to capture this rebound, but with overseas markets losing momentum there is a total lack of direction," said Ben Kwong, chief operating officer with KGI Asia.
Here are the index moves and top stock moves by midday-
* The benchmark Hang Seng Index .HSI was up 0.7 percent at 18,097.08, with HSBC Holdings (0005.HK) leading gains with a 1.6 percent jump.
* The main index has been hovering between 17,800 and 18,200 points since late last week, but investors anticipate a bigger correction in the event of news that challenges the assumption of a gradual recovery in the global economy.
Analysts see the next major support for the index at around 16,000 points, close to its 38.2 percent Fibonacci retracement since the market bottomed in March and the double peak high it hit in April.
* China Unicom (0762.HK), the country's second-largest wireless service provider, rose 4.6 percent on speculation it was close to signing a deal to launch Apple's (AAPL.O) popular iPhone handset in China.
* The China Enterprises Index .HSCE, which represents top locally listed mainland Chinese stocks, had risen 0.5 percent to 10,877.22.
* Cathay Pacific (0293.HK) jumped 5.9 percent to HK$10.86 after JP Morgan raised its rating on the stock to "overweight" from "underweight" on expectations that the airline's earnings outlook will become more positive.
The brokerage increased its target price to HK$13 from HK$7, saying Asia's third-largest airline would outperform peers with a marginal profit in 2009, helped by better average loads, cost-cutting measures including capacity rationalization, and mark-to-market fuel hedging gains.
* China Mengniu Dairy (2319.HK) gained after it said it would raise HK$3.058 billion ($394.6 million) from a share sale to China National Oils, Foodstuffs and Cereals Corp (COFCO) and Hopu Investment Management. Shares in the company, which saw sales drop sharply following last year's tainted milk scandal, were up 2.4 percent at HK$19.56.
* Huadian Power (1071.HK) (600027.SS) jumped 5.1 percent to HK$2.69 in Hong Kong and 7.7 percent to 5.71 yuan in Shanghai after it said it would acquire 70 percent stakes in two in Shanxi-based coal miners for about 760 million yuan ($111.2 million) to ensure coal supply to the company's power plants.
* Sportswear maker Li Ning (2331.HK) rose 1.4 percent after it acquired Kason Sports, one of the top three badminton equipment brands in China, for a total 165 million yuan ($24.15 million).
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