Hong Kong stocks tumbled more than 4 percent in morning trade Thursday after overnight losses on Wall Street, according to AP. The blue-chip Hang Seng Index dropped as much as 4.4 percent before rebounding from its early low. Near midday the index was at 21,110.51, down 3.5 percent from the previous close. Analysts said the decline was steeper than expected and reflected persistent investor concern over the U.S. economy. «Until the U.S. market becomes stable, the Hong Kong market is not likely to consolidate its upward trend,» said Castor Pang, an analyst at Sun Hung Kai Financial. The Hong Kong market is tracking overnight weakness on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.36 percent to 12,099.66. Other regional markets were also weak, with China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dropping 6.5 percent to 3516.33 by late morning. That is its lowest level since June 7 last year. Japan's financial markets were closed for a national holiday.
