HK Stock Market Move | Shipping stocks are performing actively, with COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation (01138) and OOIL (00316) both rising more than 3%.

Shipping stocks are active, as of the time of writing, COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation (01138) rose by 3.21% to HK$9.65; OOIL (00316) rose by 3% to HK$126.9; COSCO Shipping Holdings (01919) rose by 2.97% to HK$12.82; TS LINES (02510) rose by 1.7% to HK$8.39. On the news front, recently, due to the implementation of the US 301 port tariffs on October 14, the Ministry of Transport announced that China will implement special port service fees for US vessels starting from October 14. Guosen believes that the mutual imposition of port fees by China and the US has limited overall impact on freight rates, but the initial chaos during the short-term implementation of the policy may cause some fluctuations in freight rates. In terms of oil transportation, with the new round of US OFAC sanctions landing on October 9 and China announcing the imposition of special port service fees on US vessels on October 10, concerns about port congestion and declining supply chain efficiency have increased. Last week, VLCC freight rates saw a significant increase on a week-on-week basis. The bank believes that, in the short to medium term, coupled with the peak season effect, oil transportation rates are expected to perform strongly. Huachuang Securities pointed out that the mutual imposition of port fees by China and the US will increase shipping costs, and the short window of implementation may disrupt established trading schedules and plans, causing short-term chaos. Against the backdrop of intensified trade frictions, shipping companies have a stronger incentive to transfer costs and a stronger say, supporting the increase in short-term freight rates. In the medium to long term, shipping companies can mitigate the imposition of port fees through the redistribution of capacity between different global routes, but considering China's crucial position in the global dry bulk, energy transportation, and manufacturing export sectors, the ultimate impact needs further observation. It is recommended to pay attention to investment opportunities in shipping stocks amid China-US trade frictions, as tanker and dry bulk freight rates are expected to benefit from short-term chaotic risk premiums.