Shares in trader and miner Glencore surged as much as 20 per cent in London on Monday, following a 25-per cent leap on the Hong Kong market, as hopes for deal-making trumped worries over a slump in metals prices.

Reuters reported on Friday that Glencore was in talks with a Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund and China's state-backed grain trader Cofco, along with Canadian pension funds, to sell a stake in its agricultural assets.

Glencore shares were up 9.4 per cent at 0725 GMT, at 104.15 pence, after giving up some of their earlier gains. The stock has recouped all of its losses from the past week, with several brokers saying a recent sell-off was overdone as the company had the ability to withstand the crunch on commodity prices.

Glencore said that it was not aware of any reasons for the price and volume movements in Hong Kong. -Reuters