Wuhan coronavirus lockdown sends Cathay Pacific, China Air stocks tumbling along with broader Hong Kong, China markets
- Air China fell 3.2 per cent to HK$6.74, Cathay Pacific shed 2.3 per cent, and China Eastern Airlines dropped 3.4 per cent on Thursday morning
- The government shut down all public transport in and out of the city where the new strain originated in an effort to contain the outbreak
The markets extended brutal losses from Tuesday – when the Hang Seng plunged by the most in over five months – after a mild rebound on Wednesday. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.5 per cent by the lunch break, on track for its biggest loss since November. The Hang Seng Index dived 1.7 per cent.
The key question is whether the outbreak will last for months and affect the overall aviation market in China and even the whole of Asia, as the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) did in 2003, said Luya You, a transportation analyst at Bocom International.
“The market is pricing in the worst case scenario, which is Sars,” said You. “Some people might say it’s a bit of an overreaction compared to how many people were infected.”
A lot of airports, including Hong Kong’s, were basically empty during Sars, she said. The passenger volume of Cathay Pacifc Airways plummeted by 75 per cent in May 2003 from the same period in 2002.
In Wuhan, some 200 flights had been cancelled by 9am on Thursday, according to a report by local newspaper Chutian Metropolis Daily. A total of 600 aeroplanes were previously scheduled to land or depart from the airport, the report says.
