SHANGHAI, April 29 (Reuters) - China and Hong Kong

stocks rose on Monday, led by real estate shares, as some major

cities relaxed home purchase restrictions over the weekend and

as market expectations for more easing measures rose.

Chinese property developers traded in China and

Hong Kong jumped 6.9% and 4.3%, respectively, by midday

on Monday.

Meanwhile, China's industrial profits fell in March compared

to the first two months and slowed gains for the quarter,

official data showed on Saturday, raising doubts about the

strength of the recovery in the world's second-biggest economy.

** At the midday break, the Shanghai Composite index was

up 0.8% at 3,113.29 points.

** China's blue-chip CSI300 index was up 1.4%, with

its financial sector sub-index higher by 1.65%, the

consumer staples sector up 1.02%, the real estate

index up 6.93% and the healthcare sub-index

up 2.74%.

** Chinese H-shares listed in Hong Kong rose 0.9% to

6,326.49, while the Hang Seng Index was up 1.29% at

17,878.13.

** The smaller Shenzhen index was up 2.08%, the start-up

board ChiNext Composite index was higher by 3.6% and

Shanghai's tech-focused STAR50 index was up 3.09%​.

** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index

was firmer by 0.94% while Japan's Nikkei index

was up 0.81%.

** The yuan was quoted at 7.2449 per U.S. dollar,

0.02% firmer than the previous close of 7.2465.

** The largest percentage gainers in the main Shanghai Composite

index were Guangdong Fangyuan New Materials Group Co Ltd

, up 18.25%, followed by Shenzhen Qingyi Photomask

Ltd, gaining 15.73% and Wuhan Citms Technology Co

Ltd, up by 14.94%.

** The top gainers among H-shares were Longfor Group Holdings

Ltd ( LNGPF ), up 8.36%, followed by JD Health International Inc ( JDHIF )

, gaining 5.64% and Xpeng Inc ( XPEV ), up by 4.95%.

(Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Janane Venkatraman

)