HK shares open down 1.5 pct; Ping An plunges

HONG KONG, July 3 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares opened 1.5 percent lower Thursday, led by steep losses in Ping An Insurance (2318.HK)(601318.SS) as investors continued to dump the stock on rumours of a tax probe despite the company's reassurances.

Only five of the index's forty-three stocks opened higher.

The Hang Seng Index .HSI opened 314.96 points lower at 21,389.49.

The China Enterprises Index .HSCE fell 2.2 percent, trailing a 2.3 percent drop on the Shanghai bourse early Thursday.

(Reporting by Parvathy Ullatil; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)