* China shares drop to four-week low as loan data worries
* HK shares post biggest one-day drop in three months
* HKEx drops 3.9 pct on profit taking after Q2 earnings (Updates to close)
By Parvathy Ullatil and Claire Zhang
HONG KONG, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Chinese stocks sank 4.7 percent to their lowest close in four weeks on Wednesday on worries that this year's market surge has outrun economic recovery and that a drop-off in lending means less money flowing into shares.
Hong Kong shares slid 3 percent, posting the biggest single-day drop in three months, after a sharp sell-off on the Shanghai bourse and overnight losses on Wall Street gave investors an excuse to take profits on recent sharp gains.
"The rally in the (Shanghai) index has far exceeded the speed of economic recovery," said Western Securities analyst Cao Xuefeng. "Yesterday's mixed economic data and sharp drop in bank lending heightened such worries, while weak overseas markets triggered the sell-off."
China's central bank said on Tuesday that new lending in July fell more sharply than many analysts had forecast, although the second half had been widely expected to see a marked slowdown in lending.
BLUE CHIPS SUCCUMB TO PROFIT TAKING IN HK
The benchmark Hang Seng Index finished down 638.97 points at 20,435.24, falling off a 12-month closing high above 21,000 points in the previous session. Analysts see the index supported at around 20,000 points in the near term, close to its 20-day moving average.
Turnover rose to HK$75.1 billion from Tuesday's HK$65.7 billion.
But Chinese bank stocks, which have been falling since earlier this month, outperformed. Top lender ICBC shed 1.1 percent.
"This pullback gives investors a solid opportunity to accumulate shares ahead of upbeat second-quarter results. The latest economic data show that China is not ready to turn off the taps outright," said Alexander Lee, analyst with CIMB-GK.
Index heavyweights HSBC and China Mobile, which have both surged in recent sessions on mounting speculation on an impending Shanghai listing for the two stocks, ended lower.
The HSBC stock was down 4.7 percent, while shares in the world's largest wireless network operator dropped 3.8 percent.
"Yesterday's data has made investors fearful again about the pace of the recovery in China. The low turnover in the recent rebound indicates that investors are wary of a correction happening soon," said Castor Pang, strategist with Sun Hung Kai Financial
Investors were cautious ahead of the outcome of the two-day U.S. Federal Reserve meeting, which is expected to provide hints on how the recovery in the world's largest economy will progress.
The China Enterprises Index, which represents top locally listed mainland Chinese stocks, was down 2.8 percent at 11,656.32 with PetroChina down 4.8 percent as weak oil prices weighed.
Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing (HKEx) fell off a 15-month high to drop 3.9 percent even after the world's largest listed exchange operator ended four quarters of shrinking earnings with a 3 percent jump in its April-June net profit.
SHANGHAI RALLY RUNS OUT OF STEAM
The Shanghai Composite Index closed down 152.007 points at 3,112.719, down 10.5 percent from a 14-month high hit at the rally's peak last week but still up 71 percent since the start of the year.
Losing Shanghai A shares outnumbered gainers by 847 to 86, while turnover for Shanghai A shares rose to 157.1 billion yuan ($23.0 billion) from Tuesday's six-week low of 122.2 billion yuan.
A clampdown in bank lending by government regulators, fuelled in part by worries that some of the record surge in loans this year was finding its way into market speculation, has fuelled worries about a tightening of the ample market liquidity that helped propel this year's share rally.
"Liquidity in the market is indeed changing, weighing down the stock market," said Hongyuan Securities chief economist Fang Sihai.
Nanjing Securities analyst Wen Lijun added: "The index overshot on optimism about the economic recovery and new lending, but it could find support around 3,050 points. After this steep fall it may stage a mild rebound tomorrow."
Metal, steel and coal shares were weak, with Jiangxi Copper down 7.4 percent at 39.36 yuan, Baoshan Steel off 6.5 percent at 8.32 yuan and China Shenhua Energy lower by 5.9 percent at 34.88 yuan.
AJ Corp, a Shanghai-based financial investment firm, raced up its 10 percent daily limit to 14.53 yuan after saying it planned to raise 2.6 billion yuan in a private placement to acquire two property companies. The shares had been suspended since July 3, during which time the index gained 0.78 percent. (Editing by Edmund Klamann and Chris Lewis)