SHANGHAI, June 18 (Reuters) - China stocks edged up on Tuesday, tracking regional markets higher ahead of comments from Federal Reserve officials later in the day, while Hong Kong shares slipped.
Global investors are looking to a slew of speakers from the Federal Reserve for more clues on the U.S. central bank's rate-cutting trajectory following last week's decision to stay pat on policy.
Data on Monday showed China's May industrial output lagged expectations, with the property sector still weak, putting more pressure on Beijing for policy support to shore up growth. But retail sales beat forecasts thanks to a holiday boost.
"China's economic growth does not appear likely to improve substantially in the coming months, though it is also not weak enough to trigger a government response, meaning market participants will be once again waiting for more policy support to arrive," Gavekal Dragonomics analysts said in a note.
** At the close, the Shanghai Composite index was up 0.48% at 3,030.25.
** The blue-chip CSI300 index was up 0.27%, with its financial sector sub-index higher by 0.32%, the consumer staples sector down 1.33%, the real estate index down 1.23% and the healthcare sub-index down 0.98%.
** At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index was down 20.57 points or 0.11% at 17,915.55. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index fell 0.08% to 6,368.1.
** The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares rose 0.3%, while the IT sector dipped 0.66%, the financial sector ended 0.37% higher and the property sector dipped 0.98%.
** The smaller Shenzhen index ended up 0.71% and the start-up board ChiNext Composite index was higher by 0.286%.
** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 0.61%, while Japan's Nikkei index closed up 1%. (Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Sohini Goswami)
