Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index plunged 1301.05 points, or 7.38 percent, to finish Thursday's morning session at 16336.14, tracking losses of the U.S. market overnight amid a new wave of financial tsunami triggered by Lehman Brothers which filed for bankruptcy.

Hong Kong stocks opened down 516.96 points, or 2.93 percent lower, and quickly fell off 17,000 level in first several minutes during the morning session. The Hang Seng Index once nosedived to the new intraday low of 16283.72, down 1353.47 points, or 7.67 percent lower during Thursday's morning trading.

Regional stocks also tumbled in early trading following another sell-off on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones industrial average fell about 450 points, or 4.06 percent, to 10,609 overnight.

(Xinhua News Agency September 18, 2008)