CORRECTED-HK shares soar to four-month high in huge volumes

(Adds dropped word "billion" in fifth paragraph)

* HSBC leads gains after Goldman Sachs posts strong earnings

* Coal stocks jump on speculation over price increases

* Turnover swells; drives HKEx shares higher (Updates to close)

By Parvathy Ullatil

HONG KONG, April 14 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares galloped to a four-month closing high on Tuesday, piling on 4.6 percent in hectic trade after the Easter break, buoyed by hopes for stabilisation in the financial sector and reassuring data from China.

HSBC (0005.HK) led the charge with a 9.3 percent jump, rising to HK$55.60, a level last seen before Europe's largest bank announced its massive cash call in March. Goldman Sachs (GS.N) reported much better-than-expected earnings for the first quarter of 2009, raising hopes that the worst may be over for the beleaguered financial sector.

Among other big winners, Li & Fung (0494.HK) soared 16.9 percent after woman's apparel retailer Talbots Inc (TLB.N) said it was exploring the possibility of enlisting the consumer products supplier as its primary sourcing agent. [ID:nN13388016]

The benchmark Hang Seng Index .HSI ended up 678.75 points at 15,580.16, its best closing level since early December 2008.

Turnover had swelled to a three-month high of HK$75.4 billion, compared with just HK$52.7 billion on Thursday, driving up shares in bourse operator Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing (HKEx) (0388.HK).

HKEx, which derives nearly a fifth of its revenue from trading fees, rose 7.3 percent to HK$89.25.

"New loans in China in the first quarter rose to record highs, suggesting that some of the money has spilt over into Hong Kong," said Patrick Shum, strategist with Karl Thomson Securities.

New loans in China hit a record high of 1.89 trillion yuan last month, up 29.8 percent from a year earlier, while money supply also swelled, raising expectations for an early recovery in the mainland's economy. [ID:nBJD000675]

"Hints that the economy is recovering and hopes that bank earnings will surprise on the upside can drive this rally to 15,700 points in the near term. Once it moves beyond that level, we can say we are in a bull market," he said.

The blue chip index hit its year-high of 15,763.55 on Jan 7.

For technical analysis on the Hang Seng Index click on

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BOC Hong Kong (2388.HK) shot up 11.6 percent to HK$10.60 after the Hong Kong-based lender's parent increased its holding in the bank to 66.06 percent from 65.87 percent earlier this month.

"A whole bunch of blue chip stocks have posted double-digit percentage gains today. This shows that investors both in Hong Kong and overseas are even more optmistic about the Chinese market going forward," said Castor Pang, strategist with Sun Hung Kai Financial

"After it broke the 250-day moving average yesterday, most people agree that the Shanghai is officially a bull market now," he said.

The Shanghai Composite Index .SSEC, which has soared nearly 39 percent this year, rose 0.5 percent to an eight month high on Tuesday.

CITIC PACIFIC, RESOURCES SURGE

CITIC Pacific (0267.HK) built on Thursday's steep gains to rise another 16.6 percent as investors continued to cheer the exit of the loss-hit conglomerate's former chairman and managing director.

The Beijing-backed company, which was rocked by $1.9 billion in foreign exchange losses in 2008, announced a major management reshuffle last week, including appointing a senior official from its parent CITIC Group as the new top boss at the company. [ID:nHKG266271]

"The losses are a thing of the past, investors are focusing on a turnaround at CITIC under new management," said Sun Hung Kai's Pang.

The stock finished at HK$12.38, its highest closing price since it reported its massive forex loss in October 2008.

The China Enterprises Index .HSCE of top mainland firms was 4.3 percent higher at 9,214.91.

Chinese bank stocks strengthened, reacting to the central bank's promise over the weekend to implement a relaxed monetary policy and keep sufficient liquidity in the banking system. [ID:nPEK2033]

Bank of China rose 4.6 percent to HK$2.95 while top lender ICBC (1398.HK) piled on 3 percent.

Coal stocks soared, catching up with the steep gains of their Shanghai-listed counterparts on Monday, on speculation of price increases following protracted negotiations with electric power producers.

China Shenhua (1088.HK), the world's most valuable coal miner, vaulted 10.5 percent to HK$22.15, while smaller rival China Coal Energy (1898.HK) slapped on 9.3 percent. Yanzhou Coal (1171.HK) advanced 13.7 percent to HK$7.49.

Energy and metal stocks also picked up pace with offshore oil specialist CNOOC (0883.HK) climbing 7.7 percent and Angang Steel (0347.HK) adding on 11.9 percent ahead of its earnings later on Thursday.

(Reporting by Parvathy Ullatil; Editing by Nick Macfie)