HK Stock Market Move | The stocks of shipping companies continue their recent upward trend as El Nio disrupts global shipping. Maersk has recently raised its performance guidance for 2026.

The shipping stocks continue their recent upward trend. As of the time of writing, COSCO Shipping Holdings (01919) is up 4.05%, trading at HKD 17.72; OOIL (00316) is up 3.43%, trading at HKD 174.8; SITC (01308) is up 3.48%, trading at HKD 48.16. In news, according to NOAA's latest forecast, the El Nio phenomenon has been confirmed as of August 2026, with a 97% probability of continuing until early spring 2027. The probability of a super El Nio occurring between October and December 2026 is as high as 81%. Recently, Maersk announced an upward revision to its performance guidance for the entire year of 2026, predicting annual adjusted EBITDA of USD 10.5 billion to USD 12.5 billion. On August 21, the container shipping index (European routes) saw its main contract rise by over 10%, reaching a high of 1934 points, a new high since June 3. GF SEC pointed out that the reduction in precipitation is directly impacting the water levels of the Great Lakes, posing a severe challenge to the efficiency of the Panama Canal; the longer shipping distances are driving up industry costs, with significant differentiation in price elasticity of congestion across different vessel types. Changjiang stated that container shipping benefits from strong overseas demand and the limited capacity of the Panama Canal, while Maersk continues to revise its 2026 performance guidance upward, strengthening the resilience and dividend attributes of the container shipping sector.