SHANGHAI, April 11 (Reuters) - China stocks fell on Tuesday, as sentiment took a hit after data showed China's March consumer price growth was the slowest since September 2021, while shares in Hong Kong were mixed.
** China's blue-chip CSI300 Index dropped 0.3% by the lunch break, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.4%.
** Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng was up 0.1% and the China Enterprises Index was little changed.
** China's consumer inflation in March hit the slowest pace since September 2021, suggesting persistent demand weakness and potential for further policy stimulus. The reading was also below Reuters poll estimate.
** Meanwhile, producer deflation sped up, extending price declines for a sixth straight month.
** China's March inflation print indicates the world's second-largest economy is running a disinflation process, analysts said.
** The disinflationary pressure reflected slow consumption demand recovery amid a reopening and robust supply-chain, analysts at Mizuho said in a note.
** "Economic recovery is on track but not strong enough to push up prices," said Zhiwei Zhang, President at Pinpoint Asset Management. "There is room for fiscal and monetary policies to boost growth further," he added.
** Analysts at Nomura concurred that they expect Beijing to step up policy support in the coming months as low inflation readings could provide Beijing with more room for stimulus.
** In China, the CSI Media Index continued its rally and climbed 4.0%, while semiconductor shares lost 1.2%.
** Sector performances in Hong Kong were mixed. Property stocks rose 2.1%, with mainland property shares soaring 6.1%, while tech stocks slumped 1%. (Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; editing by Uttaresh Venkateshwaran)
