HONG KONG, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong stocks on Monday plunged 1,108 points amid lingering concerns over COVID-19 and its impact on the global economy.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index lost over 1,000 points to open at 21,659.55 points on Monday morning, and continued drifting lower.
Hang Seng Index ended at 21,696.13 points, down 4.86 percent, and traded between 21,659.55 and 22,064.31, with turnover totaling 137.55 billion Hong Kong dollars (about 17.75 billion U.S. dollars).
Global stock markets have plummeted for two weeks due to falling crude oil prices and the COVID-19 outbreak.
The situation of the virus spread in Europe and the United States is worsening and more counties are taking restrictions on entry of tourists which are expected to affect the markets, said Ronald Wan, a seasoned investment banker in Hong Kong.
As the COVID-19 outbreak has been brought under control in the mainland, the stock markets there will provide support for the Hong Kong stock market which is expected to see less losses than the U.S. and European markets.
Stock prices dropped across blue chips, with banking giant HSBC leading the decline as it fell by 5.95 percent to end at 44.2 HK dollars. As for other heavyweights, local bourse operator HKEX lost 3.02 percent to 211.4 HK dollars. China Mobile fell by 2.64 percent to 53.35 HK dollars. Tencent lost 3.22 percent to 348 HK dollars.
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