Hong Kong - Hong Kong shares fell 3.63 per cent Wednesday as the fallout from the turmoil in the US banking sector continued to depress the market.

The Hang Seng Index, which dropped 5.4 per cent Tuesday, fell another 663.42 points to close Wednesday at 17,637.19. Turnover was 76.23 billion Hong Kong dollars 
(9.79 billion US dollars).

The index - which only 11 months ago hit a high of almost 32,000 - rose slightly in early trading as news broke of the US government bailout of the insurance giant American International Group Inc.

However, negative sentiment dragged share prices down later in the day with property stocks and locally listed China stocks leading the downward spiral. (dpa)