AROUND THE WORLD'S MARKETS: HONG KONG

LEADING STOCKS closed sharply lower, undermined by overnight losses on Wall Street. The Hang Seng closed down 205.89 points or 1.50 per cent at 13,482.77.

Analysts said investors were unnerved by a 176 point overnight fall in the Dow. BNP Prime Peregrine Securities research head Adrian Ngan

also said that Hong Kong was ripe for profit-taking after strong gains on Monday when the Hang Seng Index surged 305 points, or 2.28 per cent.