HSBC leads HK blue chips, China Railway advances

(For Shanghai stock market reports, click [.SS])
(Adds Friday lunch close, details)

By Rita Chang

HONG KONG, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Hong Kong stocks gained broadly
on Friday after the U.S. government announced a plan to stem home
foreclosures, easing recession fears and sending shares in global
lender HSBC Holdings plc (0005.HK) up nearly 3 percent.

The market looked set to rise for an eighth-straight session,
its buoyant mood boding well for the debut of China Railway Group
(0390.HK).

Shares in the world's third-largest construction jumped as
much as 30 percent, in contrast to the last three IPOs which
debuted then sank at a time when investors were nervous about
further fallouts from the credit crisis.

"We've got different conditions now than we've had earlier.
Now we're upbeat so the IPO's got a premium, and in this sense,
it's a return to normal," said Howard Gorges, vice chairman of
South China Brokerage.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index .HSI had risen 0.6 percent to
29,744.85 by lunch on mainboard turnover of HK$73.8 billion
(US$9.5 billion), compared to Thursday morning's HK$72.9 billion.

The China Enterprises Index of Hong Kong-listed mainland
companies .HSCE, or H shares, gained 1.1 percent to 17,990.87.

China Railway, which raised a combined US$5.5 billion in a
Hong Kong and Shanghai initial public offering, ended the morning
at HK$7.41, up 28.2 percent from its HK$5.78 issue price. Its
shares were the morning's most active.

Shares in HSBC outperformed with a 2.7 percent gain to
HK$137.20, tracking gains in other financials listed on Wall
Street, on optimism over a U.S. plan that includes an
interest-rate freeze for some of the most distressed borrowers
[ID:nN06203985].

HSBC, which has subprime exposure through its US units, has
already taken billions of dollars in loan loss provisions this
year.

Aluminum Corp of China (2600.HK) jumped 3.6 percent to
HK$18.98. JPMorgan upgraded the world's third-largest producer of
alumina, to overweight from neutral because of fast rising demand
as China is set to become a net importer of aluminium.

Alibaba.com (1688.HK) rebounded 2 percent to HK$33.55, a day
after its shares slid on a broker view that the stock was
expensive, even though growth prospects were good.

Among outperforming large-caps, oil producer PetroChina Co
Ltd (0857.HK) raced up 2.1 percent to HK$15.92 and Ping An
Insurance (2318.HK), China's second-largest life insurer, jumped
2.1 percent to HK$93.25.
(US$1=HK$7.8)
(Editing by Anne Marie Roantree)