The stock fell back later but in London on Tuesday soared 21pc to close at 115p.

The extraordinary surge came after its London-listed shares fell by almost 30pc last on September 28, and after a weekend punctuated by rumours about which Glencore assets were soon to be sold and whether a takeover was in the air.

Yesterday morning Glencore shares closed up again, 2.5pc higher at 117.85p.               

Analysts at London advisory firm Sanford C. Bernstein & Co said the sale of Glencore’s agriculture assets was well advanced and could be worth $US10 billion as demand was high for such products.

Citigroup Inc had called the sell-off unjustified and recommended buying the shares. Deutsche said the gloom was completely off the mark.

Its stock snapped back last week after it said its business was "robust" and it had secure access to funding. 

Glencore CEO Ivan Glasenberg indicated he would be open to takeover offers but few in the market expect one to emerge given its $US30 billion debt load.

The Hong Kong exchange is Glencore's secondary listing, behind its primary listing on the London Stock Exchange. The extraordinary surge was accompanied by huge trading volumes, which looked set to be the company's biggest ever day of trading in HK.

Glencore said it was unaware of the forces behind the share spike, which followed a strong day for mining and energy stocks in Australia.

Later, on a six-person panel for a Financial Times conference, Mr Glasenberg talked about the outlook for copper and and how prices had fallen too much. 

Glencore controls more than 150 coal, metal, oil and agricultural assets and employs about 180,000 people.