HK shares slide 4.7 pct as energy, bank stocks fall

* China Railway Group slammed on forex loss revelation * Chinese banks slump ahead of third-quarter earnings * China Overseas Land bucks on government support measures

(Updates to midday)

By Parvathy Ullatil and Jun Ebias

HONG KONG, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares slid 4.7 percent on Thursday, with the main index falling below 14,000 for the first time since mid-2005, as energy stocks plunged on demand worries and top Chinese banks fell ahead of their earnings.

Investors focused on slackening corporate bottomlines and trading losses related to currency hedging after a string of dismal quarterly earnings and forex loss warnings this week.

"Even after a series of concerted efforts by governments to stabilise the financial markets, it seems that the global economy is still under pressure and will likely slip into a recession," said Daniel Chan, senior investment strategist at DBS Bank

"In Hong Kong, some hedge funds continue to sell their assets to raise more money. The HSI will likely test lower levels, trading between 13,000 to 15,000 until the end of the year."

But China Overseas Land (0688.HK) dodged the downdraft, advancing 3.5 percent after the government announced measures on Wednesday to boost flagging property prices on the mainland.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index .HSI ended the morning session 663.35 points lower at 13,603.25 after dropping to 13,402.35 earlier. The index had dropped 51 percent so far this year and shed nearly 7 percent in the previous two sessions.

HSBC Holdings (0005.HK), Europe's largest bank and the most heavily weighted stock on local blue-chip index, slid 3.7 percent to HK$100. The stock fell below HK$100 for the first time in more than five years earlier in the day.

"Investors are very concerned about a global economic slowdown, lower corporate earnings and rising signs of problems in the emerging markets," said Alex Tang, research director with Core Pacific-Yamaichi International.

"Even a benchmark stock like HSBC will not be able to hold above any of its previous support levels as the market sentiment remains extremely weak."

But HSBC has still outperformed the broad market, falling 24 percent since the start of the year compared with a more than 50 percent plunge on the Hang Seng Index.

The China Enterprises Index .HSCE of top locally listed mainland Chinese companies was down 7.4 percent at 6,203.67.

Top bank ICBC (1398.HK) dropped 5.6 percent while China Construction Bank (0939.HK) shrank 6.4 percent. Both lenders will announce their third-quarter results on Friday.

Shares of China Railway Group (0390.HK) plunged 7.3 percent after the biggest railway and construction builder on the mainland disclosed 1.9 billion yuan ($278 million) in foreign exchange losses for the first nine months of 2008. [ID:nHKG26975]

Merrill Lynch cut its rating on the stock to underperform from buy after slashing its 2008 earnings estimate by 61 percent to 1.5 billion yuan owing to the forex loss.

The stock shed more than 20 percent of its market value on Wednesday on speculation of the forex losses.

China Railway Construction Corp (1186.HK) fell 11.1 percent at the open after it reported a 320 million yuan foreign exchange loss for the third quarter. It scaled back losses to 3.8 percent by midday after analysts said the market had overreacted. The shares were down about 19 percent on Wednesday.

Energy stocks plunged after crude oil prices slid on Wednesday as the U.S. dollar hit a two-year high against the euro and amid signs of a slowdown in demand from China.

Asia's largest oil and gas producer, PetroChina (0857.HK), fell 7.9 percent to HK$5.45, its lowest level since mid-2005.

Offshore specialist CNOOC (0883.HK) tumbled 10.5 percent, taking its total loss this year to more than 60 percent.

Coal miner China Shenhua Energy (1088.HK) plunged 10.9 percent as analysts warned of less demand for the commodity amid a global recession which will also put a dampner on China's red hot growth rate.

Smaller rival China Coal (1898.HK) plummeted 11.7 percent.

Shares in Huaneng Power International (0902.HK), China's top listed electricity power supplier, fell 19.2 percent on Thursday as analysts said they did not expect it to return to profit in 2009.

Citigroup analyst Pierre Lau expects Huaneng to post a loss of more than 3 billion yuan ($438.8 million) in 2008 and also expects a net loss for 2009.

Peer Datang Power (0991.HK) followed suit, shedding 18.6 percent, and adding to Wednesday's 17.8 percent slide.

Aluminum Corp of China (2600.HK), the third largest alumina producer in the world, dropped 10.1 percent after it said it was aiming to cut production by 18 percent annually as prices of the metal plummet. (Reporting by Parvathy Ullatil; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree)