HK Hot Stocks-Chalco,Ping An tumble; Esprit rises

HONG KONG, July 3 (Reuters) - At 0318 GMT, the Hang Seng Index .HSI trimmed losses to 0.9 percent after opening down 1.5 percent as modest gains in index heavyweights China Mobile (0941.HK) and CNOOC (0883.HK) eased the HSI off its lows.

The China Enterprises Index .HSCE of top locally-listed Chinese firms gave up 2.3 percent.

Here are some of the stocks on the move:

*Aluminum Corp of China (2600.HK), known as Chalco, tumbled more than 7 percent as increased power tariffs weighed down the stock. China's power producers raised on-grid tariffs by an average of 4.7 percent on July 1.

Chalco issued a profit warning last month, tipping off investors about an at least 50 percent fall in its interim profit.

* Ping An Insurance (2318.HK) (601318.SS) fell another 8 percent after Wednesday's 7.8 percent plunge as investors continued to dump the stock on rumours it was facing problems related to a tax audit. The company has denied the talk. [ID:nSHA343105].

The stock was also ravaged by a continued slide in Chinese bourses and worries over its plan to maintain a 5 percent stake in Belgian-Dutch financial services group Fortis (FOR.AS) by buying more shares in its upcoming capital-raising.

* Chinese banks also joined the slump, dragged lower by the eight-month bear run in the mainland Chinese markets, where lenders have substantial investments. Banks were also hit by speculation about an imminent rate increase in China.

ICBC (1398.HK) fell 2.5 percent and China Construction Bank (0939.HK), the most heavily traded stock of the day, stumbled 2.9 percent.

* Apparel and accessories retailer Esprit (0330.HK) jumped 2 percent after retail sales in its primary market, Germany, rose strongly in May after a weak April.

(Reporting by Parvathy Ullatil; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)