HK Stock Market Move | Restaurant stocks rebounded in early trading, and many places have started a new round of consumer voucher distribution. The catering sector benefits directly and has great resilience in recovery.

The catering stocks rebounded in the early trading session. As of the time of writing, JIUMAOJIU (09922) rose by 3.99% to 2.87 Hong Kong dollars; HELENS (09869) rose by 3.03% to 2.04 Hong Kong dollars; DPC DASH (01405) rose by 2.89% to 74.7 Hong Kong dollars; HAIDILAO (06862) rose by 2.14% to 14.3 Hong Kong dollars. According to media reports, more than 10 provinces have announced the launch of a new round of consumer voucher distribution this year, including Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Hubei, Henan, Fujian, and Guangdong. In addition, the National Commerce Work Conference proposed that by 2025, the national commerce system should promote a special action to boost consumption, innovate diversified consumption scenes, expand service consumption, develop digital consumption, accelerate the construction of a high-standard market system, and improve the modern commercial circulation system. CITIC SEC believes that the central government's emphasis on domestic demand and clear attitude towards stimulating consumption will directly benefit the catering sector, which is a representative of the economic cycle, with significant repair elasticity. Leading companies in the catering industry have already raised prices, reflecting a stable overall competitive trend, and low likelihood of intensifying price wars. Most raw material supplies are abundant and price expectations are weak, which is beneficial for downstream profit improvement. The catering supply chain sector will directly benefit from the recovery of downstream catering, and is optimistic about demand improvement and competition easing in 2025, although performance may vary among different sub-sectors, and recommends screening based on both sector and company dimensions.