Asia's top bourse operator up 4.8 pct on broad rally

HONG KONG, July 24 (Reuters) - Shares in Hong Kong Exchnages & Clearing (HKEx) (0388.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the local stock exchange operator, jumped nearly 5 percent to their highest level in over a month on Thursday, boosted by a rally in the broad market and improving turnover on the exchange.

On Thursday, the share shot up to HK$126, a 26 percent jump from the HK$100 low it hit on July 8. HKEx has come under severe selling pressure in recent weeks after Morgan Stanley slashed its target price on the stock to HK$85 on declining daily turnover.

But since then, the Hang Seng Index .HSI has climbed over 9 percent in a rally fuelled by financial stocks following the U.S. government's plan to rescue troubled mortagage lenders and better-than-expected earnings from major banks. A sharp pullback in oil prices also pushed the market higher.

At 0700 GMT the Hang Seng Index .HSI was 0.8 percent higher after opening at a six week high.

(Reporting by Parvathy Ullatil; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree)