Hong Kong Stocks Tumble, Most Asian Markets Fall

Hong Kong stocks tumbled on Thursday following losses on Wall Street, with energy firms dragged down by a drop in oil prices.

The Hang Seng Index slipped 1.7 percent, to 30,213 by the break.

The Shanghai Composite Index pared some of its losses, but was still 0.2 percent down at the break, to 3,076, while the Shenzhen Composite Index eased 0.2 percent to 1,770.

The Japanese market was closed for a public holiday.

Singapore dropped more than 1 percent. Seoul was off 0.2 percent and Taipei slipped 0.6 percent. Manila and Jakarta also retreated.

However, Sydney and Wellington were higher.

The US dollar dialled back slightly after rallying on Wednesday on the back of expectations the Federal Reserve will lift interest rates at least twice more this year. But the greenback is still around three-month highs against the yen and near four-year highs against the pound.(AFP)

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