Hong Kong stocks jump on Wall Street gains, optimism about China recovering from snowstorms

Hong Kong stocks surged Monday morning as investors were heartened by gains on Wall Street last week and other Asian markets.

The blue chip Hang Seng Index rose 3.1 percent to 24,876 by midday after earlier jumping as much as 4 percent.

Sentiment got a boost from speculation that China might relax its credit tightening measures after the country was hit by recent snowstorms. China also announced a $700 million fund Friday to help farmers recover from devastating snowstorms.

"Previously people were talking about damage caused by snowstorms, now they're talking about rebuilding," said Y.K. Chan, fund manager at Phillip Asset …