HONG KONG (May 18): Hong Kong and Shanghai stocks closed sharply down on Wednesday in line with a regional sell-off and following big losses on Wall Street.

The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong fell 1.45%, or 292.39, to 19826.41.

And the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.27%, or 36.17 points, to 2,807.51 while the Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China's second exchange, slumped 2.68%, or 48.60 points, to 1,766.08.