HK Stock Market Move | Airline stocks lead the way, the holiday season increase will significantly boost travel demand. The aviation industry's profit in the third quarter of 24 years is again higher than the same period in 2019.

Aviation stocks led the gains, as of the time of writing, China Southern Airlines (01055) rose by 4.22% to 3.46 Hong Kong dollars; Air China Limited (00753) rose by 3.88% to 4.55 Hong Kong dollars; China Eastern Airlines (00670) rose by 1.79% to 2.28 Hong Kong dollars; and CATHAY PAC AIR (00293) rose by 1.38% to 8.82 Hong Kong dollars. On the news front, on November 12th, the State Council released the revised "National Holiday and Memorial Day Holiday Regulations", adding 2 days of holidays for all citizens starting from January 1, 2025. A CITIC SEC research report stated that, based on the market performance during the 2024 Spring Festival, this revision will significantly boost the travel demand of the people in terms of time conditions and willingness. Guotai Junan pointed out that in 2023, the release of pent-up demand and airlines prioritizing prices led to a historic high in industry profits in Q3. In 2024, the off-peak and peak seasons will be more pronounced, with airlines prioritizing passenger load factor. The Q3 profits of A-share airlines decreased by 14% year-on-year compared to 19Q3. Air China, China Southern Airlines, and China Eastern Airlines saw a year-on-year drop of 18% in net profits in 24Q3, which was nearly a 10% increase compared to 19Q3, and still better than expected even after exchange rate adjustments. The report mentioned that the future trend of supply and demand recovery is certain, and the off-peak season is the right time for counter-cyclical deployment.