HK, China shares rise as carmakers soar on upbeat sales data

* Carmakers surge on upbeat June sales figures

* Refiners, airlines climb on falling oil prices

* China Merchants extends losses on rights issue plan (Updates to close)

By Parvathy Ullatil and Claire Zhang

HONG KONG, July 9 (Reuters) - Hong Kong and Chinese shares recovered early losses on Thursday, driven by gains among carmakers including Dongfeng Group (0489.HK) after China announced upbeat June sales.

China's passenger car sales in June rose 48.5 percent from a year earlier as government stimulus measures boosted consumption, Xinhua said on Thursday. [ID:nSHA165501]

A total of 874,000 cars were sold last month, according to Reuters calculations, up from 588,400 a year earlier, and above 829,100 units in May.

Dongfeng Group soared 9 percent, while Geely Automobile Holdings (0175.HK) jumped 11 percent. In China, FAW Car 000800.SZ, FAW Xiali Automobile 000927.SZ and SAIC Motor (600104.SS) each advanced by around 9 percent.

Investors shrugged off concerns that surprisingly high mainland new lending data for June could lead to a clampdown on China's monetary easing policies. Most analysts said they did not expect an imminent policy shift.