SHANGHAI, March 24 (Reuters) - China and Hong Kong stocks rose on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump postponed a threat to strike Iran's power grid, offering a brief lift to risk appetite even as investors stayed wary following Tehran's denial that any talks had taken place.
** China's blue-chip CSI300 Index .CSI300 climbed 0.7% by the lunch break, while the Shanghai Composite Index .SSEC gained 1%. Hong Kong benchmark Hang Seng .HSI was up 1.8%.
** Global markets regained some ground after Trump cited "productive" discussions with senior Iranian figures, though some gains were trimmed as Iran said no negotiations were taking place.
** Onshore equity performance has shown only a weak link to energy prices and implied volatility on major A-share indexes is running below levels seen during the April 2025 flare-up in global trade tensions and beneath many overseas peers, said Lei Meng, China Equity Strategist at UBS. The brokerage said the recent "de-risking" phase may be nearing an end in the short term.
** The selloff on Monday saw China and Hong Kong benchmarks drop more than 3%, their steepest declines since Trump's "Liberation Day" tariff shock last year, as the escalating Middle East conflict sparked a global rout.
** The onshore .CSIEN and offshore .HSCIE energy indexes fell 1.1% and 0.5%, respectively, while non-ferrous metal .CSISNMIM shares rebounded, up 2%. Materials stocks .HSCIM in Hong Kong rose 4%.
** Defensive financial stocks .CSI300FS rose 1.4%, led gains onshore, with bank shares .CSI399986 up 1.8%.
** Shares of WuXi AppTec 2359.HK jumped most in eight months after the Chinese new-drug developer and manufacturer posted a higher annual profit.
** Laopu Gold's 6181.HK shares surged as much as 11%, buoyed by strong 2025 financial results and an upbeat outlook.
** Tech majors listed in Hong Kong .HSTECH were up 1.3%.
(Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
((li.gu@tr.com))
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