Hong Kong stocks floundered yesterday after Monday's dive on the Nasdaq Stock Market, with interest rate jitters keeping a lid on bargain hunting seen in the afternoon.
The Hang Seng Index dropped 0.83 per cent to end 124.1 points weaker at 14,776.9. Turnover was a thin HK$6.51 billion.
The market fell to a low of 14,644.61 in early trading before paring losses in the last hour.
Analysts said a break through the technically important 14,800-point level left little hope for a significant rebound this week.
Investors were hesitant before the Federal Open Market Committee's meeting next week and a lack of local corporate news kept buyers on the sidelines, they said.
'There is so much uncertainty. Nasdaq is proving to be very unpredictable and moving in a very volatile way,' Pacific Challenge Securities head of research Alan Hutcheson said.