HK Stock Market Move | Airline stocks lead the decline, multiple airlines extend free refund and change policies on flights to Japan. Fluctuations in oil and exchange rates may affect airline performance.

Aviation stocks lead the decline, as of the time of publication, China Southern Airlines (01055) fell by 7.67% to 5.54 Hong Kong dollars; China Eastern Airlines (00670) fell by 7.12% to 5.22 Hong Kong dollars; Air China Limited (00753) fell by 3.5% to 6.89 Hong Kong dollars. In terms of news, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reminded Chinese citizens to avoid traveling to Japan during the Spring Festival. Data from flight manager DAST shows that 49 flights to Japan in February have been cancelled. Air China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, as well as Spring Airlines, Xiamen Airlines, and Shanghai Airlines collectively announced that the free ticket refund or change policy for flights to Japan has been extended to October 24. Dongxing released a research report stating that against the backdrop of reduced demand on Japanese routes, some capacity has overflowed to other routes, which could indeed lead to overcapacity more easily. Therefore, it is necessary for airlines to continue strengthening the supply control of international routes. In addition, there have been recent fluctuations in oil prices and exchange rates. According to a research report from Huachu Securities, based on the half-year reports of various airlines for 2025, a 10% change in oil prices corresponds to an annual cost impact of approximately 43-51 billion yuan for the three major airlines, and a 1% exchange rate fluctuation has an impact of 1.3-2.6 billion yuan on the three major airlines.