HK stocks steady, Asia Cement surges in debut

HONG KONG, May 20 (Reuters) - Hong Kong stocks held steady on Tuesday, with newly listed Asia Cement (0743.HK) staging a strong debut amid optimism that reconctruction work in China's quake-hit areas will boost demand for building materials such as cement.

Asia Cement shares jumped 62 percent to open at HK$8.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index .HSI eased 0.19 points to open at 25,692.27. The China Enterprises Index of Hong Kong-listed companies .HSCE, or H shares, had slipped 0.32 percent by 0204 GMT. (Reporting by Alison Leung; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree)