HONG KONG: Hong Kong stocks ended sharply lower Friday, tracking a plunge in Shanghai, with investors spooked by a Chinese probe of brokerages as well as data showing a dive in China's industrial profits.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong sank 1.87 percent, or 420.62 points, to finish at 22,068.32.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2015