HK shrs end up 10 pct, biggest gain in 9 mths

* Main index up 10.2 percent in volatile trade

* China financials soar on government support talk

* PCCW falls on halted sale of HKT stake

(Updates to close)

By Parvathy Ullatil

HONG KONG, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares surged 10.2 percent in skittish trade on Monday, rebounding from their worst weekly decline in more than a decade after worldwide measures to support markets and help contain the global financial crisis.

The blue-chip index posted its largest single day gain since January, boosted by Chinese financials such as China Merchants Bank , although the index had dipped 0.3 percent earlier in the session amid mixed signals from regional markets.

Shares in PCCW ended down 1.8 percent after the phone company halted the sale of a stake in its new HKT unit, citing the market upheaval.

The stock fell as much as 12.5 percent to HK$2.45 earlier, its lowest level since 1999 when the company repositioned itself as a fixed-line service provider after acquiring Hong Kong Telecom.

Chinese financial stocks rebounded from a week of steep declines on talk that the nation's sovereign fund will embark on another round of buying to support the mainland markets.

Central Huijin, an arm of China Investment Corp bought 2 million shares in each of the nation's top lenders in September.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index .HSI closed 1,515.29 points higher at 16,312.16. The main index lost 16.3 percent last week, its worst weekly fall since the market meltdown of January 1998.

"Guaranteeing bank deposits is a good idea, a strong step towards restoring investors' confidence," said Andrew To, sales director with Taifook Securities.

Regulators in European countries, Australia and New Zealand took increasingly bold measures to shore up their financial markets through measures ranging from blanket bank deposit guarantees to buying stakes in banks directly.

Mainboard turnover rose to HK$72.6 billion ($9.35 billion) from HK$69.4 billion on Friday.

China Merchants Bank led the blue chip gainers, rising 18 percent to HK$16.28.

ICBC , China's biggest bank, jumped 14 percent while China Construction Bank and No.3 lender Bank of China each rose 12 percent.

Top insurer China Life surged 16 percent after dropping to an 18-month low on Friday. Smaller rival Ping An Insurance was also up nearly 16 percent.

The China Enterprises Index .HSCE of top locally listed mainland Chinese firms rose 13.3 percent to 8,083.43.

Shares in China Oilfield Services, the country's largest offshore oil services group, rebounded and closed 12.3 percent higher at HK$5.76. It had fallen as much as 9.7 percent earlier in the session as investors worried about its lower drilling rates and higher finance cost.

Credit Suisse cut its target price to HK$5.75 per share from HK$12.0.

Shares in China's largest listed gold miner, Zijin Mining , closed 5.3 percent up on Monday after falling 9.4 percent at one point earlier as the price of the precious metal dived on a stronger U.S. dollar on Friday.

But Lingbao Gold ended down 0.7 percent after Deutsche Bank cut its rating on the stock to sell from buy, saying the company had yet to make its transformation from being a smelter to a miner of the metal. Lingbao's lack of self sufficiency in gold concentrates would erode its margins, the investment bank said.

(Additional reporting by Alison Leung; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree)