Hong Kong - Hong Kong shares fell by more than 5 per cent in the first hour of trading Thursday in one of the city's worst financial weeks on record.

The Hang Seng Index, which had already lost 5.4 per cent of its value Tuesday and another 3.63 per cent Wednesday, was down by 895 points or 5.04 per cent at 11 am Thursday.

The index, shaken by the news coming out of the US since the collapse of Lehman Brothers, has now lost nearly 3,000 points since the beginning of the week. Monday was a public holiday in Hong Kong.

The Hang Seng Index has lost nearly 50 per cent of its value since peaking at an all-time high of just below 32,000 points at the end of October 2007. (dpa)