Hong Kong - Hong Kong stocks tumbled by more than 3 per cent to end morning trading Friday at their lowest level for 17 months following dips in markets worldwide.

The Hang Seng Index lost 636.83 points, or 3.12 per cent, to close the morning at 19,752.65. It is the first time the index plunged below 20,000 points since April 2007. It peaked at almost 32,000 in October 2007.

Concerns over the forthcoming US jobless figures accelerated the sell-off, analysts said. Turnover was 30.83 billion Hong Kong dollars (3.94 billion US dollars). (dpa)