HONG KONG, March 11 (Reuters) - Hong Kong stocks slipped 1.8 percent in early afternoon trade as the Japanese market fell following a strong earthquake off Japan's northeast coast.
Brokers said panic selling pulled down the market before bargain hunters emerged, helping the benchmark index trim losses slightly to 1.5 percent as of 0635 GMT. (Reporting by Donny Kwok; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)