HK shares drop 0.7 pct but China shares inch up

(Updates to midday)

HONG KONG, June 8 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares succumbed to profit taking on Monday as investors digested mixed signals from the U.S. economy and held their breath for a raft of economic data from China and the United States this week.

But China-listed shares edged up with financials helped by news of a possible tie-up between two heavyweights and property counters buoyed by strong sales in May.

Here are the index moves and top stock moves by midday-

HONG KONG

* The benchmark Hang Seng Index .HSI was down 0.7 percent at 18,544.26 led by a 1.2 percent drop in global lender HSBC (0005.HK).

* Data on Friday showed U.S. employers cut 345,000 jobs in May -- substantially less than analysts had forecast -- but the U.S. unemployment rate hit 9.4 percent, its highest since 1983.

* Turnover edged down to HK$40.3 billion from midday Friday's HK$41.5 billion.

* The China Enterprises Index .HSCE of top mainland companies dipped 0.4 percent to 10,818.83.

* China Overseas Land (0688.HK) bucked the trend in the broad market to rise 2.9 percent to HK$16.56 after the top Chinese property developer said its property sales in May soared 113.9 percent from a year earlier to HK$5.65 billion (US$724 million).

* Smaller rival Greentown China (3900.HK) piled on 7.2 percent to HK$10.66 after recording a 193 percent jump in May sales to 6.2 billion yuan from a year earlier. Greentown said the average contract selling price for the first five months rose 12 percent year on year to 11,251 yuan per square meter.

* Chinese electricity producers soared for a second straight session on reports that coal miners and power producers had agreed on a nominal increase in coal prices in two provinces in China after protracted negotiations. [ID:nHKG128447]

* Huadian Power (1071.HK) gained 3.3 percent, while China's largest power producer Huaneng Power (0902.HK) rose 5.5 percent to HK$5.97. Datang International Power (0991.HK) climbed 4.7 percent to HK$4.86.

* However, China Resources Power (0836.HK) slipped 1.3 percent after piling on nearly 13 percent since the beginning of June, ahead of its inclusion in the benchmark Hang Seng Index on Monday.

* Hong Kong-based property developers sank on Monday after property transactions fell 77 percent from last week amid a lack of new launches, according to local newspaper reports. Top developer Sun Hung Kai Properties (0016.HK) dropped 3.3 percent, to HK$97.70 while Li Ka-shing's property flagship Cheung Kong (0001.HK) fell 1.9 percent.

SHANGHAI