HK, China shares rise as carmakers soar on upbeat sales data

* Carmakers surge on upbeat June sales figures

* Refiners, airlines climb on falling oil prices

* China Merchants extends losses on rights issue plan (Updates to close)

By Parvathy Ullatil and Claire Zhang

HONG KONG, July 9 (Reuters) - Hong Kong and Chinese shares recovered early losses on Thursday, driven by gains among carmakers including Dongfeng Group (0489.HK) after China announced upbeat June sales.

China's passenger car sales in June rose 48.5 percent from a year earlier as government stimulus measures boosted consumption, Xinhua said on Thursday. [ID:nSHA165501]

A total of 874,000 cars were sold last month, according to Reuters calculations, up from 588,400 a year earlier, and above 829,100 units in May.

Dongfeng Group soared 9 percent, while Geely Automobile Holdings (0175.HK) jumped 11 percent. In China, FAW Car (000800.SZ), FAW Xiali Automobile (000927.SZ) and SAIC Motor (600104.SS) each advanced by around 9 percent.

Investors shrugged off concerns that surprisingly high mainland new lending data for June could lead to a clampdown on China's monetary easing policies. Most analysts said they did not expect an imminent policy shift.

"After such robust lending in the first half of 2009, taking steps to restrain lending makes sense, but it's unlikely both monetary and property policies will shift direction suddenly," said Huatai Securities analyst Chen Huiqin.

REFINERS, AIRLINES SOAR

The benchmark Hang Seng Index .HSI rose 0.39 percent or 69.52 points to 17,790.59, rebounding from a two-week low.

Turnover rose to HK$62.3 billion from Wednesday's HK$57.1 billion.

Energy-related stocks including refiners and airlines climbed on the back of a dip in oil prices. Air China (0753.HK) (601111.SS) jumped 2.1 percent in Hong Kong and 5.4 percent in Shanghai, while top Asian refiner Sinopec Corp. (0386.HK) rose 3.9 percent.

China Merchants Bank (3968.HK) (600036.SS) extended Wednesday's losses as investors fretted over its plans to raise about $3 billion through a rights offering by the end of the year as China's sixth-largest lender aims to boost its capital after overpaying for a recent acquisition.

The stock fell 3.1 percent in Hong Kong, deepening Wednesday's 3.7 percent drop, and shed 0.1 per cent in Shanghai. Earlier this year, China Merchants said it would book a provision against its $4.7 billion acquisition of Hong Kong's Wing Lung Bank in 2008. [ID:nPEK350559].