Hong Kong and Shanghai markets sank in Asian trade Thursday after China set tepid 2015 economic and trade growth targets, while the euro fell to 11-year lows ahead of a key European Central Bank meeting. In afternoon trade Hong Kong sank 1.17 percent and Shanghai lost 1.68 percent, while Sydney ended flat, edging up 2.57 points to 5,904.16 and Seoul was also virtually unchanged, nudging up 0.09 points to 1,998.38. China's National People's Congress, the rubber-stamp legislature, opened with Premier Li Keqiang setting a growth target for this year of "approximately seven percent", which would be the slowest in 25 years. Authorities also cut their trade growth target for this year to "around six percent" after missing its 7.5 percent goal in 2014 for the third consecutive year.



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