* Hang Seng index down 0.5 pct, gives up earlier gains
* Mainland markets still closed, keeps turnover subdued
* Oil cos slip as crude prices ease
* Macau casino operators weaker
(Updates to midday)
By Vikram S.Subhedar
HONG KONG/SHANGHAI, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares fell on Monday, reversing earlier gains as weakness in oil producers weighed on the index, but overall turnover remained subdued with mainland markets still closed for the Lunar New Year holidays.
The Hang Seng index was down 0.5 percent at 23,791.5 after trading slightly higher at the open. The index had jumped 1.8 percent on the last trading day before the holiday.
Hong Kong's benchmark is up 3.3 percent so far this year, helped largely by a strong performance in the first two weeks of January.
However, that rally stalled in the second half of the month as a tepid Shanghai market and a pull back in risky emerging market assets prompted profit-taking, with market players saying investors remain wary.
"Client conviction is low," said a Hong Kong-based equity trader at a large U.S. bank.
"Its too high to buy and shorting is not working and that's keeping volumes low," said the trader, adding that there was talk that inflation in China in March would reach 6 percent.
Concern over rising consumer prices, in particular food, has hit emerging markets in Asia this year as funds pulled money from high inflation countries such as Indonesia and India, favouring developed markets and North Asia instead.
Investors pulled $7 billion out of emerging market equity funds in the week of Feb. 4, the biggest outflow in three years, data from fund tracker EPFR Global showed, putting a sizeable dent in the record inflows seen in this category in 2010.
A nearly 2 percent fall in oil prices on Friday weighed on major oil producers, which were the biggest drag on the Hang Seng index.
CNOOC fell 1.6 percent while refiner Sinopec dropped 2.3 percent, easing from an over two-year high.
Macau casino operators were broadly lower with shares of Wynn Macau Ltd. the hardest hit, down 5.5 percent, after worse-than-expected revenue from rival Las Vegas Sands prompted investors to cash in on recent gains.
Wynn shares hit a record high on January 28 and are still up over 11 percent this year, building on last year's mammoth 82.2 percent rise.
Bucking the weak trend, shares of Hutchison Whampoa rose to their highest level in over 3 years, up 1.2 percent on healthy volume. Shares of Hutch have gained 21 percent this year.
Paul Cheung, an analyst at Samsung Securities in Hong Kong, said along with improving returns from investments in Hutch's 3G business, the market had become more excited about prospects of further asset spin-offs.
Last month, Hutch announced that it would raise up to $6 billion via a Singapore listing of its port unit.
(Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)