Hong Kong stocks surged Thursday, driven by gains in Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing on China's relaxation of controls on overseas equity investments and higher corporate earnings by heavyweights Hutchison and Cheung Kong.

The Hang Seng Index soared 620.09 points, or 2.77 percent, to 22,966.97, after trading between 22,771.85 and 23,063.93 during the session.

Turnover reached 114.53 billion Hong Kong dollars (US$ 14.68 billion), up from 80.07 billion Hong Kong dollars (US$ 10.27 billion) Wednesday.

Analysts said some profit-taking is likely in coming days given the index's 2579-point gain in the last four sessions.

Hong Kong Exchanges rose 3.5 percent to 132.90 Hong Kong dollars. In a report Thursday, JP Morgan cited the company as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the flow of Chinese capital into Hong Kong.

China's foreign exchange regulator said Monday individuals in the Tianjin Binhai New Area can invest directly in overseas securities products as part of a trial to relax its tight capital controls.

Hutchison Whampoa rose 0.3 percent to 77.20 Hong Kong dollars, after reporting its first-half net profit increased 53 percent from a year earlier, helped by a one-off gain from its sale of Indian telecom assets. Its parent, Cheung Kong, the flagship property company of tycoon Li Ka-shing, closed up 2.6 percent at 109.50 Hong Kong dollars, after reporting midday that its first-half net profit was up 52 percent.

Oil companies also rose as oil prices moved higher Thursday, after slipping to an eight-week low below US$ 70 a barrel the previous session. Light, sweet crude for October delivery rose 12 cents to US$ 69.38 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, mid-afternoon in Singapore.

CNOOC gained 7.1 percent to 9.10 Hong Kong dollars and Sinopec closed up 4.5 percent at 8.10 Hong Kong dollars.

The finance sub-index went up 477.25 points or 1.36 percent to 35,530.11. The properties sub-index surged 940.52 points or 3.61 percent at 27,007.18. The commerce and industry sub-index went up 489.15 points or 3.95 percent to 12,883.87. The utilities sub-index soared 571.41 points or 1.60 percent at 36,260.87.

(Xinhua News Agency August 24 2007)