SHANGHAI, Nov 11 (Reuters) - China and Hong Kong stocks edged lower on Tuesday, with investors staying cautious amid a lack of fresh catalysts.

** China's blue-chip CSI300 Index .CSI300 dropped 0.7% by the lunch break, while the Shanghai Composite Index .SSEC lost 0.4%. Hong Kong benchmark Hang Seng .HSI was down 0.2%.

** Mainland equities have largely traded range-bound this month, as investors rotated across sectors during a lull in corporate earnings and policy announcements.

** UBS analysts expect China's economy to expand by 4.5% in 2026, down slightly from previous years, as weakening exports weigh on overall growth. Domestic activity is likely to remain resilient, even as the property sector continues its downturn; contractions are seen easing, they said.

** Liquor shares .CSI399997 retreated 0.8%, reversing part of a 5% rally from the previous day. Onshore AI shares .CSI930713 fell 1.6%, while tech majors traded in Hong Kong .HSTECH slipped 0.3%.

** China's baijiu industry recorded its steepest quarterly earnings decline in a decade in the third quarter of 2025, according to HSBC analysts.

** The analysts said demand and pricing are likely to stay subdued in the absence of policy support. They expect earnings pressure to persist for several more quarters, with destocking likely to continue through the fourth quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026.

** Hong Kong shares of electric vehicle maker Xpeng 9868.HK jumped more than 15% to their highest level since July 2022, after the company said last week it would roll out three self-developed robotaxi models and start trial operations in 2026.

** Ganfeng Lithium shares 1772.HK rose 4.1% on Argentina lithium project progress.

(Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom)

((li.gu@tr.com))