HONG KONG: Hong Kong stocks fell in the opening minutes of trade Thursday as investors returned from a midweek holiday to play catch-up with the previous day's global sell-off.

The Hang Seng Index slipped 0.63 percent, or 180.32 points, to 28,413.49.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.29 percent, or 10.09 points, to 3,500.88, while the Shenzhen Composite Index on China's second exchange dipped 0.28 percent, or 6.62 points, to 2,320.84.