China and Hong Kong stocks rose on Monday, led by real estate shares, as some major cities relaxed home purchase restrictions over the weekend and as market expectations for more easing measures rose.

Chinese property developers traded in China and Hong Kong jumped 6.9% and 4.3%, respectively, by midday on Monday. Meanwhile, China's industrial profits fell in March compared to the first two months and slowed gains for the quarter, official data showed on Saturday, raising doubts about the strength of the recovery in the world's second-biggest economy.

** At the midday break, the Shanghai Composite index was up 0.8% at 3,113.29 points. ** China's blue-chip CSI300 index was up 1.4%, with its financial sector sub-index higher by 1.65%, the consumer staples sector up 1.02%, the real estate index up 6.93% and the healthcare sub-index up 2.74%.

** Chinese H-shares listed in Hong Kong rose 0.9% to 6,326.49, while the Hang Seng Index was up 1.29% at 17,878.13. ** The smaller Shenzhen index was up 2.08%, the start-up board ChiNext Composite index was higher by 3.6% and Shanghai's tech-focused STAR50 index was up 3.09%​.

** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 0.94% while Japan's Nikkei index was up 0.81%. ** The yuan was quoted at 7.2449 per U.S. dollar, 0.02% firmer than the previous close of 7.2465. ** The largest percentage gainers in the main Shanghai Composite index were Guangdong Fangyuan New Materials Group Co Ltd , up 18.25%, followed by Shenzhen Qingyi Photomask Ltd, gaining 15.73% and Wuhan Citms Technology Co Ltd, up by 14.94%. ** The top gainers among H-shares were Longfor Group Holdings Ltd, up 8.36%, followed by JD Health International Inc , gaining 5.64% and Xpeng Inc, up by 4.95%. (Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Janane Venkatraman )