Hong Kong stocks end at over 10-month high as lunar new year cheers

Jan 26 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares jumped on Thursday, marking a gain on the first day of trade in the year of the rabbit, with local stock catching up with gains in other markets as trade resumed after the three-day Lunar New Year holiday.

** Mainland China markets are due to resume on Monday.

** The benchmark Hang Seng Index surged 522.13 points, or 2.37%, to close at 22,566.78, the highest since March 2, 2022, while the Chinese H-shares Hang Seng China Enterprises Index rose 2.98% to end at 7,706.72, the highest since July 5.

** Melco International led a slide in Macau casinos stocks, falling as much as 7.1% to HK$10.22 in its biggest daily pct decline since Dec. 19.

** Hong Kong shares of China Tourism Group Duty Free Corp and Prada jumped on consumption optimism due to mainland tourism

** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 1.17%, while Japan's Nikkei index closed down 0.12%.

** The top gainer on the Hang Seng Index was Xiaomi Corp (XIACF) , which gained 12.48%, while the biggest loser was Orient Overseas International Ltd (OROVF), which fell 2.63%.

** The top gainer among H-shares were Xiaomi Corp (XIACF) while the biggest H-shares percentage decliner was China Feihe Ltd (CHFLF), which was down 1.76%

** Hang Seng TECH Index jumped 4.3%, the IT sector surged 3.2% and the Hang Seng Mainland Properties Index soared 4.5% (Reporting by Donny Kwok; Editing by Christina Fincher)