HONG KONG - Hong Kong's stock market cratered on Monday, with the benchmark Hang Seng Index down 13.22 percent to close at 19,828.3 points.

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index tumbled 13.75 percent to end at 7,262.72 points, and the Hang Seng Tech Index plunged 17.16 percent to 4,401.51 points.

Hang Seng suffered the biggest one-day decline since 1997, with shares of tech, solar, banking and online retailers plunging as investors swiftly pulled out of anything linked to global growth and trade.

The Hang Seng Tech Index's 17 percent plunge marked its worst single-day performance since records began. The index was down 27 percent in a month, and close to where it began the year before the DeepSeek-inspired rally.

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The Hang Seng volatility index shot to its highest since March 2022.

Hong Kong-listed shares of HSBC tumbled 15 percent, and Standard Chartered stock was down 16 percent. Shares in online giants Alibaba and Tencent were down 18.0 percent and 12.5 percent, respectively.

The Hang Seng Index plunged 2,119.76 points, or 9.28 percent, to open at 20,730.05 points on Monday.

Central Huijin Investment Ltd (Central Huijin), a Chinese state-owned investment company, said it has once again increased its holdings of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and will continue to do so in the future to "resolutely safeguard" the stable operation of the capital market.

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The company said in a statement that it firmly believes in the development prospects of China's capital market and fully recognizes the current investment value of A-shares, Xinhua reports from Beijing. Trading volume for some ETFs linked to the mainland's CSI300 index soared.

"The Asia move this morning is partly a catch-up from Friday for markets... so I wouldn't say there's been a disproportionate move today – it's a blanket risk off," said Ben Bennett, head of investment strategy for Asia at LGIM in Hong Kong.