Hong Kong-listed Cinema Stocks and Lunar New Year

Lunar New Year is a very important holiday for hundreds of millions of people in China and abroad. It was a really good day for cinema stocks listed in Hong Kong. However, before discussing this topic, let’s have a look at the stocks in Asia-Pacific. 

Interestingly, stocks in Asia-Pacific saw gains on the day as markets in mainland China remain closed for the Lunar New Year holiday. It is worth noting that, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index added 1.9% to end its trading day at 30,746.66. As a reminder, Hong Kong Stock Exchange reopened after the holidays.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 1.28% to close at 30,467.75. In the meantime, the Topix index added 0.57% on the day to 1,965.08. 

Moreover, South Korea’s Kospi advanced 0.52% to close at 3,163.25. 

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 added 0.7% to 6,917.30.

Cinema stocks on Tuesday

Let’s get back to cinema stocks. Importantly, cinema stocks listed in Hong Kong jumped on  February 16, with IMAX China and Alibaba Pictures up 31.14% and 34.58%, respectively. Local box offices set a revenue record of over 6 billion yuan ($923.63 million) for the week beginning February 11. 

Importantly, the latest result surpassed the previous week-long record of 5.9 billion yuan set in the same holiday period in 2019. Moreover, this result represents a full recovery from a coronavirus-induced slump last year. 

Authorities are trying to limit the spread of the coronavirus as much as possible. For instance, local authorities have discouraged people from traveling to their hometowns for the holiday. For example, some authorities in Shanghai even provided free movie tickets to encourage people to stay put for their holiday entertainment. 

As a reminder, China’s movie industry suffered losses in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, box offices recovered after cinemas reopened in July following a six-month closure, with outbreaks contained and a travel ban eased. 

Hopefully, the 6 billion yuan record represents the robust momentum of China’s film industry. Interestingly, cinemas in the capital opened as early as 8 am and as late as 3 am to attract younger customers while limiting occupancy to half of the seats available to promote social distancing, thanks to such measures it is possible to limit the spread of the coronavirus. 

 It is possible to contain the spread of the virus thanks to such measures. Hopefully, governmental and private organizations around the world are working hard to deal with the coronavirus pandemic. People should follow the instructions to stabilize the situation.