HK Stock Market Move | The three major airlines collectively saw an increase in their stock prices. The demand for air travel during the New Year holiday was strong. The improvement in oil prices and exchange rates is beneficial for airlines to unleash their performance.

The three major airlines collectively rose. As of the time of writing, Air China Limited (00753) increased by 3.65% to HK$7.09; China Eastern Airlines (00670) increased by 3.35% to HK$5.25; China Southern Airlines (01055) increased by 3.23% to HK$5.76. In terms of news, according to China Civil Aviation News, the 3-day New Year holiday in 2026 has stimulated the huge potential of the cultural and tourism consumption market, leading to a significant increase in demand for civil aviation travel. Data from a travel website shows that as of December 17, the number of domestic airline tickets booked for the New Year holiday exceeded 1.76 million, an increase of about 46% year-on-year, and the number of international airline tickets booked exceeded 620,000, an increase of about 18% year-on-year. Guosen believes that the forthcoming busy season will be an important catalyst for the industry, and the continuous positive feedback from the fundamentals is expected to catalyze the market's optimistic expectations for the long-term logic of aviation. The significant effect of combining holidays around the New Year holiday in 2026 will ensure a strong demand for air travel, and it is expected that both quantity and price will increase significantly year-on-year. It is worth mentioning that on December 30, the Renminbi continued its previous appreciation trend. After breaking through the "7" mark in the offshore market on December 25, the Renminbi's spot exchange rate against the US dollar strengthened and broke through the "7" mark. This is the first time it has broken this integer mark since October 2024. Guosen believes that in 2026, airfares in China are expected to stabilize and rise, and the downward trend in oil prices and the appreciation of the Renminbi are both favorable for airlines to release their performance. Therefore, the bank believes that the aviation industry has a large elastic space for performance after the domestic economy rebounds in the future.