MNI China Press Digest Oct 9: A-shares, Tourism, Home Sales

Highlights from Chinese press reports on Monday:

• The Chinese stock market may continue to fluctuate when it resumes trading on Monday following the Golden Week holiday, as the MSCI China Index fell 2.1% over the past week and H-shares remained under pressure due to poor liquidity. The rapid spike in U.S. bond yields to multiyear highs and rising expectations of further Federal Reserve rate hikes have impacted risk appetite, said Wang Qiangsong, research head at Nanyin Wealth. Though the U.S. dollar index has fallen below 106 in the past week, its cumulative rise of nearly 7% in recent months has kept CNY under pressure. The People’s Bank of China may continue to keep the yuan fluctuating in the range of 7.3 against the U.S. dollar. (Source: Yicai)
• Tourism spending recovered strongly during the Golden Week holiday, with 826 million domestic trips recorded, a rise of 71.3% y/y, or 4.1% when compared to the same period in 2019, according to data by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. This led to CNY753 billion of tourism revenue, an increase of 129.5% y/y, or 1.5% compared to the pre-pandemic level. Hotel bookings set a single-day peak this year, while ticket bookings of airplane, train, and scenic spots all hit new highs for the same period in the past five years, according to data by Tongcheng Travel, an online travel agency. (Source: 21st Century Business Herald)
• Home sales in most cities declined during the Golden Week holiday, despite property developers promoting more discounted projects. The average daily transaction area in 35 major cities dropped by about 20% compared with the same period last year, data by China Index Academy showed. Core cities may continue to relax restrictions to boost home sales and sales are expected to stabilise in Q4 with home replacement demand gradually released, while market recovery in second-, third- and fourth-tier cities may take longer. (Source: 21st Century Business Herald)