HK shares finish flat; China stocks slip on IPO worries

* Mixed signals from Chinese economic data

* Interest rate worries weigh down HK property stocks

* IPO restart fears hound mainland markets

(Updates to close)

By Parvathy Ullatil & Claire Zhang

HONG KONG/SHANGHAI, June 11 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares shuffled sideways in a skittish session on Thursday, taking a breather after the previous session's sharp ascent, as local property stocks were beaten down on worries about rising interest rates.

China-listed stocks slipped, snapping a three-day rise as the market grew cautious ahead of the looming restart of initial public offerings, while May economic data gave a mixed picture of recovery.

Economic data for May was mixed, with robust investment spending bolstering hopes for recovery, although imports and exports were weak. [ID:nBJB000621] [ID:nBJB000622]

"This (fixed-asset investment growth), together with robust private consumption, will continue to support stronger domestic demand growth, which will be more than sufficient to offset the weakness in exports," said Yu Song and Helen Qiao, analysts with Goldman Sachs, in a note to investors on Thursday.

PROPERTY STOCKS HIT IN HONG KONG

The benchmark Hang Seng Index .HSI finished 5.37 points higher at 18,791.03, after dropping to 18,564.87 earlier.

The China Enterprises Index .HSCE of top mainland companies was up 0.4 percent at 11,080.84, led by a 2.4 percent jump in China Construction Bank (0939.HK), which has been a laggard in the recent rally.

Turnover shrank to HK$78.4 billion ($10.1 billion) from HK$83.5 billion on Wednesday.

Local property stocks were beaten down on worries about rising interest rates, which hit Wall Street shares on Wednesday. [ID:nN10462992]

"Even though a rate hike in the U.S. may be two or even three quarters away, its all about investor expectations, and investors don't like the rising bond yields," said Alex Wong, a director with Ample Finance Group.

Changes in interest rates in Hong Kong take place in tandem with those in the United States owing to the peg between the local currency and the greenback.