Sept 14 (Reuters) - Hong Kong stocks ended higher on Monday tracking a global rally on fresh coronavirus vaccine hopes, while investors also awaited the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy meeting later this week for monetary policy outlook cues in the world's largest economy.

** AstraZeneca said on the weekend it has resumed British clinical trials of its COVID-19 vaccine, one of the most advanced in development, after getting the green light from safety watchdogs.

** Governments around the world are desperate for a vaccine to help end the pandemic, which has caused more than 900,000 deaths and a global economic turmoil. The World Health Organization (WHO) had flagged AstraZeneca's vaccine candidate as the most promising.

** At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index was up 136.97 points or 0.56% at 24,640.28. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index rose 0.56% to 9,806.64.

** The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares , while the IT sector rose 1.66%, the financial sector was flat and the property sector rose 0.39%.

** The top gainer on the Hang Seng was China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd, which gained 5.37%, while the biggest loser was Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd, which fell 1.48%.

** China's main Shanghai Composite index closed up 0.57% at 3,278.81 points, while the blue-chip CSI300 index ended up 0.51%.

** China stocks finished higher on Monday with Shanghai's Nasdaq-style STAR Market leading gains after securities regulator approved the first batch of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which are expected to draw fresh funds towards the market.

** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 0.47%, while Japan's Nikkei index closed up 0.65%. (Reporting by Winni Zhou and Andrew Galbraith; Editing by Rashmi Aich)