Hong Kong - Hong Kong shares plunged more than 6 per cent in the first minutes of trading Tuesday in response to news of the defeat of the 700-billion-US-dollars rescue plan in Washington.

The Hang Seng Index fell below 17,000 points within 10 minutes of the market opening Tuesday but recovered some lost ground to reach 17,266, a loss of 3.43 per cent or 641 points on Monday's close, by 11 am (0300 GMT).

The plunge in share prices was mirrored by sharply lower prices across Asia after a sell-off on Wall Street in response to the rejection of the economic bail-out plan by the US House of Representatives overnight.

Hong Kong share prices have been in a prolonged decline since last October when they peaked at almost 32,000 points. (dpa)