[REUTERS] Hong Kong stocks tumbled on Wednesday, with sentiment hurt by weakness on Wall Street, following comments from Federal Reserve officials that rekindled prospects of a US interest rate rise as soon as June.

The Hang Seng index fell 1.5 per cent, to 19,826.41, while the China Enterprises Index also lost 1.5 per cent, to 8,301.01 points.

Sentiment in Hong Kong had already been weak in recent weeks, due to concerns that signs of a recovery in China's economy were fading.

Indeed, a BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research report showed that investors' Chinese growth expectations have fallen sharply in May, with 50 per cent now expecting a weaker economy, compared with only 22 per cent in April.

Shares in Hong Kong fell across the board, with material and IT sectors among the biggest decliners.

REUTERS