HK shares soar on rate cuts amid regional bounce

* HK shares surge for 3rd day in regional bounce

* HSI still 56 pct off life high hit on Oct 30,2007

* Energy stocks rally amid strong earnings, higher oil prices

(Updates to midday)

By Parvathy Ullatil & Jun Ebias

HONG KONG, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares rallied for a third straight day on Thursday, surging 10.1 percent after another round of rate reductions worldwide, but the main index is still 56 percent off its life high hit on the same day last year.

"The rally is spurred by interest rate cuts made by the U.S. and other central banks. Investors have been wishing for a market rebound and apparently, they have put their wish into action," said Wilson Fong, managing director at SG Asset Management in Hong Kong.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index .HSI closed the morning session up 1,283.95 points at 13,986.02, led by a 13.13 percent jump in heavyweight China Mobile (0941.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

The main index hit a high of 31,958.41 on Oct. 30, 2007.

"A lot of the gains are in lieu of the futures expiry later today and the bounce in other regional markets," said Y.K Chan, strategist with Phillip Securities.

Other regional markets soared, with South Korea's KOSPI .KS11 up 12.6 percent and Japan's Nikkei average .N225 8.9 percent higher on Thursday.

"But even the technical charts are looking good after the three-day rally. CNOOC, for example is trading above its 10-day moving average, something that hasn't happened for two months now."

The China Enterprises Index .HSCE of top locally listed mainland Chinese companies surged 14.3 percent to 6,615.23, with most H-shares notching up double digit percentage gains.

Mainboard turnover jumped to HK$37.4 billion ($4.8 billion) from HK$34.6 billion at midday on Wednesday.

CNOOC (0883.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), China's top offshore oil refiner climbed 17.8 percent, adding to Wednesday's 10.8 percent rally.

Asia's largest oil & gas producer, Petrochina (0857.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), soared 14 percent after it posted a 30 percent increase in quarterly profit on the back of higher oil prices and a government hike in fuel prices.

China Overseas Land Investment (0688.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) gained 12.1 percent after the central bank slashed interest rates by 27 basis points for the third time in six weeks. The United States, Hong Kong and Taiwan also cut rates.

Most bank stocks rose, with HSBC (0005.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) clawing back Wednesday's 4.3 percent drop with a 7.1 percent gain. China Construction Bank (0939.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) surged 16 percent while China Merchants Bank (3968.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) rallied 12.6 percent after it posted a 49.5 percent increase in third-quarter earnings.

But BOC Hong Kong (2388.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the local unit of China's second largest lender, bucked the trend to sink 2.6 percent after it took a HK$3.2 billion hit in impairment charges on investments in mortgage-backed securities and unsecured debt.

Both JP Morgan and Credit Suisse downgraded the stock to neutral from overweight.

Resources stocks also surged after global stocks rebounded and a weaker U.S. dollar propped up commodity prices.

China Shenhua (1088.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the world's most valuable coal miner, jumped 16.7 percent, building on Wednesday's steep gains after it reported a 48 percent increase in third-quarter profit.

Rival China Coal Energy (1898.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) gained 23.3 percent while Yanzhou Coal (1171.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) shot up 27.3 percent.

China Cosco (1919.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the nation's largest shipping conglomerate, soared 27.2 percent after posting a 19 percent increase in its third quarter earnings.

Cement producer China National Building Materials (3323.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) rocketed 42.5 percent. UBS said the highly leveraged company would benefit from interest rate reductions in China, which would help mitigate its financial risks.

The stock had given up 76 percent since the beginning of October on concerns over its high gearing. (Reporting by Parvathy Ullatil; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree)