Hong Kong stocks slide

The Hang Seng Index fell 1.5 percent on Wednesday, while the China Enterprises Index also lost 1.5 percent.

Johannesburg - Hong Kong stocks tumbled on Wednesday, with sentiment hurt by weakness on Wall Street, following comments from Federal Reserve officials that rekindled prospects of a US interest rate rise as soon as June.

The Hang Seng Index fell 1.5 percent, to 19,826.41, while the China Enterprises Index also lost 1.5 percent, to 8,301.01 points.

Sentiment in Hong Kong had already been weak in recent weeks, due to concerns that signs of a recovery in China's economy were fading.

Indeed, a BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research report showed that investors' Chinese growth expectations have fallen sharply in May, with 50 percent now expecting a weaker economy, compared with only 22 percent in April.

Shares in Hong Kong fell across the board, with material and IT sectors among the biggest decliners.

REUTERS