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HONG KONG, Apr 13 (Reuters) Hong Kong stocks edged up 0.3 percent on Thursday as commodity issues rallied, but gains were checked by caution ahead of the long holiday weekend.

The benchmark Hang Seng index was up 48.44 points at 16,359.20 by the lunch recess.

Turnover was HK$15.1 billion (US$1.9 billion), down 21 percent from Wednesday morning's HK$19.2 billion.

''Investors are quite cautious before the long weekend,'' said Tony Tong, deputy research head at China Everbright Group. Still, ''the fundamentals and valuations are not too demanding.'' Hong Kong's financial markets will be closed from Friday for the Easter break, and resume business on Tuesday.

After recent rallies that drove blue chips to 5-1/2-year highs, analysts said the market had momentum on its side.

''The market's on the strong side after breaking the 16,000 level,'' said Linus Yip, strategist at First Shanghai Securities.

Maanshan Iron&Steel was the morning's most heavily traded stock, surging 10 percent to HK$3.025, having earlier touched a one-year high.

Goldman Sachs raised the stock to ''outperform'' from ''in-line'', citing a positive outlook for the company's long product cycle. JPMorgan Chase&Co. reiterated its overweight rating on the company with a dividend-adjusted target price of HK$3.60.

Angang New Steel Co. Ltd. was also a top gainer, jumping just over 6 percent to HK$7.00 after saying on Wednesday its gross profit margin should rise to above 20 percent this year, thanks to higher steel prices and the purchase of its parent's production business.

STOCKS ON THE MOVE: * TECHTRONIC INDUSTRIES CO. LTD.

The power tool maker fell nearly 4 percent to HK$13.35 after lagging forecasts with a 10 percent fall in second-half earnings, reported on Wednesday, due to inventory adjustments and slowing demand for made-to-order products.

* XIAMEN INTERNATIONAL PORT CO.

The port operator fell 2.6 percent to HK$1.88 after UK-based The Children's Investment Fund reduced its stake in the company to 3.19 percent from just over 5 percent as of April 10, according to Hong Kong Exchange documents.

Xiamen closed at HK$1.93 on Wednesday, gaining 26 percent in the year to date.

REUTERS PV BS1129