Hong Kong stocks plunged more than 3 percent in early trade on Wednesday, tracking heavy losses in New York and Europe as the oil prices retreated, with the shares falling 2.49 percent, or 483.44 points, to end the morning trade at 18,963.40.
The Hang Seng Index lost 3.1 percent, or 601.94 points, to 18,844.90 points in the first few minutes as the oil prices sank back below 30 U.S. dollars a barrel.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index ended the morning session down 224.66 points, or 2.79 percent, to close at 7834.17 in the midday.
Among the worst fared stocks, banking giant HSBC declined 3.6 percent to 52.20 HK dollars in the morning session, local developer Henderson Land lost 3.7 percent to 39.70 HK dollars. PetroChina, the country's largest oil and gas producer, ended down 4.4 percent to 4.37 HK dollars.
