HK Stock Market Move | TRIP.COM-S (09961) fell more than 3% in the afternoon as domestic travel demand weakened; institutions expect the company's third-quarter results to come under pressure.

TRIP.COM-S (09961) fell more than 3% in the afternoon. As of press time, it was down 3.28% at HK$312.8, with a turnover of HK$700 million. On the news front, the State Administration for Market Regulation, together with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, recently convened an administrative guidance meeting for the online hotel and travel booking platform services industry. The Beijing Municipal Market Supervision Administration, in accordance with the work deployment of the State Administration for Market Regulation, has opened investigations into four online hotel and travel booking platforms. Nomura believes that Trip.com Group was not involved this time, and currently believes that the importance and potential consequences of the relevant investigation are lower than those of the previous State Administration for Market Regulation investigation into Trip.com, and therefore expects limited impact on the companies involved. CLSA issued a research report stating that it expects weak domestic travel demand and regulatory compliance impacts to further weigh on Trip.com's financial performance in the third quarter of 2026. Its domestic travel revenue may decline by a mid-single-digit percentage year-on-year. This trend may further deteriorate in the fourth quarter of 2026 and the first quarter of 2027 before rebounding. The company continues to repurchase shares to support its stock price, and its moat is expected to remain unchanged over the long term.