HONG KONG: Hong Kong stocks fell by more than three percent on Thursday as a US market rout spilled over into Asia.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index tumbled by 3.54 percent, or 926.70 points, to close at 25,266.37.
Stocks dropped as much as four percent during the day, before paring losses in afternoon trading.
Markets across Asia tumbled following the worst session on Wall Street for months, as US President Donald Trump said the Federal Reserve had "gone crazy" with plans for higher interest rates.
Shares in Chinese tech giant Tencent plunged nearly 6.8 percent, while financial group Ping An lost 3.5 percent and China Construction Bank shed 3.2 percent.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dropped 5.22 percent, or 142.38 points, to 2,583.46 -- marking the lowest level since November 2014.
The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China's second exchange, plummeted 6.45 percent, or 89.15 points, to 1,293.90, the lowest point since September 2014.
Analysts warned that global investors were feeling anxious amid the US-China trade spat, a rout in US equity markets and fears over Italian budget plans that have revived fears about the eurozone.
"If we're talking about seeing an end of the tunnel -- I don't think so," Louis Tse, Hong Kong-based managing director at VC Asset Management Ltd, told Bloomberg, adding that Shanghai shares may still have further to fall.
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