Macau-focused casino stocks declined after city officials announced a weeklong shutdown of gaming venues and other businesses to combat a surge in COVID-19 cases in the Asian gambling hub.
In early Monday trading in Hong Kong, Sands China Ltd. 1928, -6.86% slid 7.2%, Wynn Macau Ltd. 1128, -6.30% fell 5.9%, SJM Holdings Ltd. 880, -5.78% lost 5.2% and Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd. 27, -6.19% shed 6.1%. The declines pushed 12-month losses for the companies to 25%-60%.
Macau officials on Saturday said they would close casinos and other businesses and require residents to largely stay at home as part of efforts to contain COVID-19. The closure of all of the city’s casinos is the first since early 2020 during the initial stages of the pandemic.
The gambling hub has recorded hundreds of cases of the virus in recent weeks, marking its worst-ever outbreak after keeping to China’s zero-COVID strategy for most of the pandemic. Officials on Monday said more than 50 new cases of the virus had been detected in the city in 24 hours, taking total cases since June 18 to more than 1,500.
Casino stock losses led declines among major Hong Kong-listed stocks, dragging the benchmark Hang Seng Index HSI, -2.79% 2.2% lower in early trading.
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