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China stocks rose and Hong Kong shares stabilized on Tuesday as fears of global banking contagion eased after investors digested the state-backed rescue deal of Swiss lender Credit Suisse over the weekend.
** China's blue-chip CSI300 Index climbed 0.4% by the lunch break, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.2%.
** Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng was up 0.3%, while China Enterprises Index slid 0.1%.
** The Swiss government-backed UBS-Credit Suisse deal has helped ease some banking contagion fears, although the complete write-off of the troubled bank's additional tier 1 bonds has caused selloff in similar debt.
** Hong Kong's leader John Lee said on Tuesday that he's confident the Credit Suisse situation wouldn't affect the city in a significant way, adding that Hong Kong's banking sector is "very resilient".
** Hong Kong-listed financial shares recouped some losses from the previous session, with HSBC Holdings trading 2% higher.
** China stocks, largely immune from the U.S. and European banking crisis due to strict capital controls and the country's relatively sound banking system, are aided by fresh signs of economic recovery.
** China's General Administration of Customs said on Monday that the utilisation rate of containers for exports has kept climbing since the second half of February, pointing to a pickup in exports.
** China's defense stocks jumped 2% amid lingering geopolitical tensions.
** Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Russia was denounced by Washington, while the United States, China and Russia argued during a United Nations Security Council meeting on Monday over North Korea's missile and nuclear weapons program.
** Tech stocks traded in Hong Kong rose 0.3%, with Bilibili Inc jumping as much as 9.2% to a four-week high after China's online gaming regulator on Monday granted licences to 27 foreign games in March, signaling further policy easing.
(Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)