(Updates to midday)
HONG KONG/SHANGHAI, June 17 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares were headed for a third straight day of losses, dropping 1.3 percent by midday Wednesday, after a batch of mixed U.S. economic data stoked investor doubts about an early recovery in the world's largest economy.
China shares shed 0.7 percent, led by financial counters, as the market remained weighed down by the expected near-term resumption of initial public equity offerings.
Here are the index moves and top stock moves by midday-
HONG KONG
* The benchmark Hang Seng Index was down 239.78 points at 17,925.72.
* "The 18,600-point major support level for the Hang Seng Index collapsed yesterday, which is a likely indication of a more meaningful correction. The next key support trend line is at 16,330 points," said CIMB-GK analyst Nigel Foo.
* The China Enterprises Index of top mainland companies fell 1.4 percent to 10,565.68.
* Turnover dropped to HK$40.4 billion from midday Tuesday's HK$43.7 billion.
* Commodity stocks, battered by weak oil and metals prices on Tuesday, fell further in another rocky session as crude oil fell for a fourth day to below $70 per barrel after industry data showed U.S. crude stocks dropped less than expected last week.
* Asia's largest energy producer PetroChina fell 2.4 percent to HK$8.55, while offshore oil producer CNOOC dropped 2.8 percent.
Jiangxi Copper gave up 3.3 percent, while the world's No.3 alumina producer Chalco pulled back 2.5 percent.
* China Resources Gas tumbled 13 percent to HK$5.10 after Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley sold down a combined 11.7 percent stake in the company to raise around $98 million. The banks each sold a 5.85 percent stake in the urban gas distributor, at HK$4.6 per share, which represents a 21.5 percent discount to Tuesday's closing price.
* Ping An slid 3.5 percent to HK$52.35, falling for a third straight day after announcing a deal to increase its stake in mid-sized lender Shenzhen Development Bank to up to 30 percent.
* The stock has given up more than 10 percent, or $2 billion, in market value this week as analysts deemed the deal expensive and cut their rating on China's second-largest insurer.
* Bigger rival China Life fell 1.7 percent to HK$28.35, tracking losses on the mainland Chinese bourses.
SHANGHAI
* The Shanghai Composite Index ended the morning down 0.74 percent at 2,755.509 points.
* Losing Shanghai A shares outnumbered gainers by 507 to 398, while turnover in Shanghai A shares slipped to 52.5 billion yuan ($7.7 billion), from Tuesday morning's 59.3 billion yuan.
* Financial shares were weak, with Shenzhen Development Bank sinking 3.10 percent to 21.89 yuan, giving back part of a 13 percent gain in the previous two sessions that followed news of Ping An Insurance's plan to boost its stake in the bank to close to 30 percent.
* Ping An slipped 1.48 percent to 43.20 yuan, extending Tuesday's 4.9 percent drop as investors were wary about the deal's likely benefits for the insurer.
* Brokerage stocks were also weak, with CITIC Securities sagging 2.0 percent to 28.00 yuan after rising 3.5 percent on Tuesday.
* "Investors will remain cautious until the new share offerings come out. The index is expected to continue consolidating," said Huatai Securities analyst Li Wenhui.
He said sluggish overseas markets also weighed down sentiment. The benchmark index has held within a 2,700- to 2,800-point range so far this week.
* PetroChina, the most heavily weighted stock in the index, dropped 1.74 percent to 13.54 yuan. A provincial news site reported that part of an LNG tank under construction at PetroChina's first LNG terminal in eastern China collapsed and killed eight people.
* Several health product stocks gained as the H1N1 flu virus spread. Guilin Layn Natural Ingredients, a health food products maker, surged by its 10 percent daily limit to 31.85 yuan as the number of confirmed H1N1 flu cases in China climbed to 226 as of Monday. The company's share price has surged by more than two-and-a-half times in less than two months. (Reporting by Parvathy Ullatil in HONG KONG and Claire Zhang in SHANGHAI; Editing by Edmund Klamann and Chris Lewis)