Hong Kong - Hong Kong stocks staged an astonishing recovery Tuesday, rebounding by more than 14 per cent just one day after suffering their worst one-day fall for 11 years.

The blue-chip Hang Seng Index climbed 1,580.45 points, or 14.35 per cent, to close the day at 12,596.29 points, recovering all its losses from Monday in one of its biggest one-day rallies ever.

Among the biggest winners in Tuesday's bull run were HSBC and China Mobile which saw their prices surge in percentage terms by double digits after falling sharply in recent days.

Turnover was 66 billion Hong Kong dollars (8.51 billion US dollars) and the scale of the recovery forced the stock market to issue a statement saying the "unusual" activity appeared legitimate.

The surge in share prices, driven by bargain hunters, came after shares plummeted by 12.7 per cent Monday, their biggest one-day fall since the height of the Asian economic crisis in October 1997.

Analysts were cautious about Tuesday's recovery, however, calling it a "technical rebound" and warning the index could fall further as the global slump continues in the coming days and weeks.

Even after Tuesday's rally, the index is still about 19,000 points below its peak of nearly 32,000 points in October 2007, and is one of the most badly affected markets in the current global turmoil. dpa hp pw