Hong Kong shares hover, CITIC Pacific outperforms

* CITIC Pacific jumps after sale of asset

* China Natl Bldg Materials soars on forecast-beating profit

* StanChart soars 7 pct after Goldman Sachs upgrade

(Updates to midday)

By Parvathy Ullatil

HONG KONG, April 22 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares were little changed at midday on Wednesday as caution crept in ahead results of stress tests on U.S. banks, but CITIC Pacific outperformed as its new management embarked on an overhaul of the conglomerate.

Beijing-backed CITIC Pacific (0267.HK) jumped 5.4 percent to HK$12.48 after agreeing to sell its entire stake in an Inner Mongolia power generation company for about 2 billion yuan ($293 million).

The move is seen as a part a wider overhaul of the diversified Chinese conglomerate, which took a nearly $2 billion hit on currency bets in 2008, under its new management.

"This business has been making losses for years, so selling it will alleviate some of the pressure on the company's bottom line and increase its cash flow," said Castor Pang, strategist with Sun Hung Kai Financial.

"CITIC Pacific may sell some other non-core assets too in the near future. Maybe they will sell their infrastructure business in China, it doesn't seem to be their focus," he said.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index .HSI ended the morning session 19.24 points higher at 15,266.65.

HSBC (0005.HK) had fallen 0.25 percent, adding to Tuesday's steep losses as doubts emerged about credit quality deterioration at U.S. banks.

On Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said most U.S. banks had enough in reserve to keep lending, but investors are cautious about prospects for further write-downs and capital needs at banks around the world, especially after the International Monetary Fund said write-downs could reach $4.1 trillion.

Meanwhile emerging markets-focused lender Standard Chartered (2888.HK) jumped 7 percent after Goldman Sachs rated the stock a buy, making a "right time, right place, right moves, right price" argument for the stock.

The China Enterprises Index .HSCE of top mainland companies was 0.7 percent higher at 9,100.85.

China National Building Materials (3323.HK) soared 9.7 percent to HK$14.24 after posting a forecast-beating 66 percent growth in its 2008 earnings owing to an increase in its cement sale volumes.

Goldman Sachs raised its target price on the stock by 18 percent to HK$17, expecting demand from construction to pick up in the second and third quarters of 2009 as activity in the infrastructure and property sectors picks up pace.

Dah Sing Banking Group (2356.HK) dropped 10.2 percent to HK$5.93 after a share placement involving 54 million shares priced at HK$5.60, a 15 percent discount to Tuesday's closing price.

The company raised HK$302.4 million to increase its capital base.

Air China (0753.HK) climbed 8 percent to HK$3.79 as investors cheered a new discounting system adopted by Chinese airlines expected to boost fares and increased passenger demand in the first quarter.

China Southern Airlines (1055.HK) rose 5.6 percent, while China Eastern (0670.HK) gained 2 percent. Chinese airline stocks have been on the rise since Monday, when they adopted the new system under which discounts on air fares have been narrowed.

Beijing Capital International Airport (0694.HK) also soared 7.6 percent on optimism passenger traffic will stay high for the rest of the year.

(Reporting by Parvathy Ullatil; Editing by Nick Macfie)