Hong Kong stocks plunged on Monday, pressured by higher oil prices amid the expected prolonged Middle East war.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index once dived over 1,000 points before closing 894 points lower, or 3.54 percent to 24,382, the worst performance in nearly a year.
The full-day turnover rose to HK$368.6 billion, marking a two-week high.
The Hang Seng Tech Index dropped 3.28 percent to 4,712.
Laopu Gold's (6181) shares dived 8.6 percent following the plunging gold prices, becoming the worst performer among blue chips.
Zijin Mining (2899) also slumped nearly 5 percent, after it said it plans to acquire the controlling power in Chifeng Gold (6693), with the latter diving 25.1 percent.
Oil majors delivered mixed performance. While CNOOC (0883) kept rising by 0.4 percent to a record high, PetroChina (0857) and Sinopec (0386) fell 1.4 percent and 3.2 percent, respectively.
Insurers' shares broadly went down. AIA (1299) sank 7.79 percent after it unveiled plans to issue US$18 billion (HK$141 billion) in debt, hitting a three-month low.
Ping An Insurance (2318) dropped 6.9 percent, and China Life Insurance (2628) declined 7.6 percent.
In the mainland, the Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index retreated 3.6 percent to 3,813 points, hitting a half-year low, while the Shenzhen Stock Exchange Component Index declined 3.76 percent to 13,345 points.
