Updates closing prices

By Jiaxing Li

HONG KONG, March 31(Reuters) - China and Hong Kong stocks fell on Monday, joining a broader equity rout in the region as concerns heightened ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policy announcement scheduled for April 2.

** China's blue-chip CSI300 index .CSI300 weakened 0.7% and the Shanghai Composite index .SSEC 0.5%, both slipping to their lowest in nearly one month.

** The consumer staples sector .CSI000912 lost 1.2% and the real estate index .CSI000952 lost 2%, leading declines onshore.

** The CSI Banks Index .CSI399986 climbed 0.3%, as shares of China's big state-owned banks rose after the lenders unveiled recapitalisation plans to boost their core Tier-1 capital.

** In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index .HSI lost 1.3% to hit its lowest since March 4, while the Hang Seng Tech Index tumbled over 2% to the lowest level in one-and-a-half months.

** Market heavyweight Alibaba 9988.HK slid 2.3% and Xiaomi 1810.HK tumbled 3.6%. CK Hutchison 0001.HK fell 3.1% after a likely delay in signing a ports deal.

** Trump is set to announce a massive tariff plan targeting all countries on Wednesday, on top of increased tariffs on all goods from China, he said over the weekend.

** China is facing "a stress test" as the markets now expect Trump to announce more reciprocal levies on April 2, analysts at Citi said in a note to clients on Monday.

** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index .MIAPJ0000PUS was weaker by 1.9% while Japan's Nikkei index .N225 fell over 4%.

** Still, the Hang Seng Index has advanced 15.3% so far this quarter, driven by optimism surrounding China's AI industry following the DeepSeek breakthrough and record mainland inflows, ranking as the best performer among global major markets.

** The onshore benchmark CSI 300 Index has recorded a 1.2% decline so far this year, marking its second consecutive quarter of losses amid persistently tepid confidence and a sluggish economic recovery.

** Elsewhere, China's manufacturing activity expanded at the fastest pace in a year this month with new orders boosting production, giving the world's No. 2 economy some reprieve as it deals with the intensifying U.S. trade war.

(Reporting by Jiaxing Li in Hong KongEditing by Eileen Soreng and Frances Kerry)

((jiaxing.li@thomsonreuters.com +852 63358304))