(Updates to midday)
* HSI inches down 0.1 pct from highest since early May
* H-shares, CSI300 Index, Shanghai Composite each down 0.6 pct
* CNOOC down more than 2 pct after oil prices dip
* Dongfeng suffers, hit by anti-Japan strife in China
* Home price data alleviates China property sector
By Clement Tan
HONG KONG, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares slipped from a near five-month high on Tuesday, while mainland Chinese markets fell for a second-straight session, dragged down by weakness in commodities-related stocks following steep overnight losses in the physical markets.
Shares of Chinese oil giant CNOOC Ltd slid 2.1 percent after crude prices fell on global markets. CNOOC had hit its highest since May 4 on Monday, having surged almost 9 percent in the two days since the U.S. Federal Reserve announced a third round of quantitative easing.
"It's definitely making some people wonder if hedge funds were unwinding their positions this quickly after the QE3 announcement, but it's a bit too early to say that it reflects anything about their longer term view on the Fed's action," said Edward Huang, equity strategist with Haitong International Securities.
The Shanghai Composite Index and the CSI300 Index of the top Chinese listings each shed 0.6 percent at midday. They have now each pared more than 50 percent of their gains since Sept 6 when Beijing first announced infrastructure project approvals.
The China Enterprises Index of the top Chinese listings in Hong Kong slipped 0.6 percent, while the Hang Seng Index inched down 0.1 percent from Monday's close, which was its highest closing level since May 4.
China Shenhua Energy Co Ltd, the mainland's largest coal producer, lost 1.9 percent in Hong Kong and 1.1 percent in Shanghai. Aluminum Corporation of China (Chalco) lost 3 percent in Hong Kong and 2.1 percent in Shanghai.
Chinese auto stocks with ties to Japanese carmakers were once again weaker, as anti-Japan protests in the mainland showed no signs of abating. Dongfeng Group slumped 4.6 percent in Hong Kong to its lowest intra-day levels since Sept 6.
China Unicom and China Telcom shed 2.1 and 4.2 percent respectively, while China Mobile rose 0.8 percent.
Dealers said investors were trimming the recent outperformance of the two smaller mainland mobile operators after the Shanghai Daily newspaper reported they were cutting prices of the iPhone 4S.
SOME RESPITE FOR CHINA PROPERTY DEVELOPERS
Having weakened sharply on Monday, Chinese property counters quickly reversed early declines after official data signalled a gentle recovery in the property market.
Home prices rose month-on-month in 35 of 70 major cities in August, down from 49 in July,
Reuters calculations, based on the National Bureau of Statistics data, showed prices increased 0.1 percent in August from July, but fell 1.4 percent in August from a year ago.
Shanghai-listed Poly Real Estate gained 1.7 percent, recovering about a third of Monday's losses,
In Hong Kong, China Overseas Land gained 1.2 percent, while Evergrande firmed 0.6 percent. (Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
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