* HK stocks closed at 8-day low as banks share down
* MCC dived below issue price, the worst HK debut this year
* Financial, property lead rebound in China stocks (Updates to close)
By Claire Zhang and Donny Kwok
SHANGHAI/HONG KONG, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares fell 2.5 percent on Thursday to its lowest close in eight days as index heavyweight banks fell and the weak performance of an IPO on debut hit, while a rebound in financial and property stocks lifted the China market.
Metallurgical Corp of China (MCC), a building and engineering firm that raised $2.3 billion in Hong Kong's biggest stock offering this year, fell as low as to HK$5.4 on its debut as investors felt the stock was too pricey given an uncertain outlook for China's steel industry.
The MCC stock, which topped the list most heavily traded, ended at HK$5.62 on first day of trading, 11.5 percent below the issue price, and was the worst Hong Kong trading debut this year.
"The drop was steeper than we expected, and that added pressure to the market," said Patrick Yiu, a director at CASH Asset Management, adding investors locked in gain in weak sentiment awaiting further hints on direction.
Tracking the weak debut performance in Hong Kong, the MCC shares in Shanghai dragged down 5.1 percent.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index fell 2.52 percent to 21,050.73, the lowest close since Sept. 15. The China Enterprises Index of top locally listed mainland Chinese stocks lost 3.09 percent to 12,047.25.
Turnover increased to HK$78.69 billion ($10.2 billion), from Wednesday's HK$58.5 billion.
Fund managers and brokers said MCC's share price performance was an indication that investors would take a more critical look at the IPOs on offer and this could pose a challenge for other offerings in the pipeline.
Index heavy weighted HSBC fell 2.3 percent to HK$88.70. China's leading lender ICBC lost 2.8 percent to HK$5.89, and China Construction Bank down 2.96 percent to HK$6.22.
Bucking the weak sentiment, Geely Auto extended its gain, rising to as high as HK$2.48, its highest since March 2000 before closing at HK$2.42, still up 13.6 percent from pervious close. Geely shares rose about 19 percent on Wednesday.
Goldman Sach's $334 million investment was seen as a boost for Geely's global ambitions, including a potential bid by its parent for Ford's Volvo brand.
FINANCIAL, PROPERTY LIFT CHINA STOCKS
China's key stock index closed up 0.38 percent on Thursday in shrinking turnover, with financial and property shares helping to propel a reversal of early losses as the market staged a technical rebound from three-week lows.
The Shanghai Composite Index losed at 2,853.554 points, after slipping through support at the 125-day moving average and closing down 1.9 percent on Wednesday.
Losing Shanghai A shares outnumbered gaining shares by 555 to 306, while turnover dropped to 111 billion yuan ($16.3 billion) from 117 billion yuan on Wednesday.
Financial shares were strong, with Beijing Bank racing up 9.3 percent to 17.72 yuan, while property sector leader China Vanke climbed 2.9 percent to 10.86 yuan.
Analysts said the index was poised for a mild technical rebound after sliding in the previous two sessions, with a battle between bulls and bears expected around key chart support at the 125-day moving average, now at Thursday's close of 2,853 points.
"The index went through some technical adjustments but turnover was light and the rebound may well not last," said Wen Lijun, analyst at Nanjing Securities.
She added that the index may consolidate around the 125-day moving average for the next few sessions.
The market has been under pressure from worries about shrinking bank lending and rising supplies of new shares following government approvals of initial public offerings.
Citi Group said in a recent research report, however, that the A-share market's performance may improve in the last two months of the year given expectations of a rise in new lending in the first quarter of next year.
Investor attention has also been distracted by the planned launch of a new market for start-ups, with the first 10 share offerings for the new board attracting keen investor interest and priced at an average of 55 times 2008 earnings, about 50 percent above their mainboard peers.
"We are busy looking at those 10 start-ups that are about to be listed, while the main board lacks many opportunities for profit as it may remain weak with heavy new share supply," said Li Shiming, senior analyst at Xiangcai Securities in Hunan.
He added that, with the second board now in the spotlight, the main index was unlikely to rally much before a week-long national holiday that begins on Oct. 1.
Mindong Electric rose 4.90 percent to 14.76 yuan after regulators approved a private share placement with subsidiaries of Taiwan's Chunghwa Picture Tubes and Fujian Furi, which rose 2.95 percent to 6.63 yuan.
Wuliangye Yibin, one of China's top liquor makers, was suspended from trade after the country's stock watchdog said it had not properly disclosed a securities investment loss and was found to have discrepancies in its stated core business revenue.
The news appeared to weigh on other spirits makers, with Kweichow Moutai dropping 2.16 percent to 161.62 yuan. (Reporting by Donny Kwok; Editing by Chris Lewis)