Hong Kong's stock market yesterday suffered its biggest fall in three months to close at 18,963.89 points, led by bank shares as the sector's liquidity and profitability came under pressure because of Europe's debt crisis, now centred on Italy.
The Hang Seng Index (HSI) dived 5.25 per cent, its worst intraday performance since September.
The index was also the worst performing in Asia. The MSCI Asia APEX 50 index slumped 4.7 per cent to close at 748. 09.
Mainland banks were heavily sold off yesterday, triggered by Goldman Sachs' sell-off of shares in Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.
ICBC, which plunged 8.67 per cent, was the mostly actively traded stock in terms of turnover, which reached HK$3.63 billion.
China Construction Bank, which tumbled 5.43 per cent, was among the top five most active stocks. HSBC shares plummeted as much as 9.13 per cent because of its disappointing third-quarter results.