* SSEC +0.2%, CSI300 +0.2%, HSI -0.5%
* HK->Shanghai Connect daily quota used 3%, Shanghai->HK daily quota used 1.8%
* FTSE China A50 +0.3%
SHANGHAI, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Chinese shares rose on Thursday, driven by gains in consumer and healthcare firms, as better than expected bank lending data lifted sentiment.
** The CSI300 index rose 0.2% to 4,954.59 at the end of the morning session, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.2% to 3,380.10.
** The start-up board ChiNext rose 0.8%, while the STAR50 index was flat.
** Consumer and healthcare firms led the gains. The CSI300 consumer staples index and healthcare index climbed 0.9% and 1%, respectively by midday break.
** China's new bank loans rose more than expected in November, while broad credit growth eased, as the central bank maintained an accommodative stance amid the global pandemic.
** Julian Evans-Pritchard at Capital Economics said in a note that the economy had reached "a turning point in the credit cycle" and loan quotas were being tightened.
** Rising corporate bond defaults could impel Chinese officials to step up their efforts to rein in risky borrowing and withdraw the implicit state guarantees that distort credit allocation, he added. Still, some analysts reckoned it was premature for the central bank to start tightening.
** The Hang Seng index, however, dipped 0.5% to 26,375.97 points, while the Hong Kong China Enterprises Index lost 0.6% to 10,424.47.
** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 0.42% while Japan's Nikkei index was down 0.23%.
** The yuan was quoted at 6.5424 per U.S. dollar, 0.04% firmer than the previous close of 6.545.
** As of 04:14 GMT, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of 44.33% over the Hong Kong-listed H-shares. (Reporting by Luoyan Liu and Andrew Galbraith; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
