Casinos start April soft, but stocks rally anyway

Stockbrokers and investors sit in front of monitors displaying share prices at a securities brokerage in Hong Kong

Stockbrokers and investors sit in front of monitors displaying share prices at a securities brokerage in Hong Kong

For the first week of April, usually a slow period, average daily gaming revenue in Macau came in at HKD643 million, a 34% decline from a year ago and 10% fall from a week ago.
“It includes the Ching Ming festival during which Chinese are expected to go sweep their ancestors’ tombs instead of rolling dices. But when we have a bull market [Hong Kong], investors would brush aside any negative news,” observes Barron’s blogger Shuli Ren.
Macau stocks rallied yesterday for a second consecutive day. Galaxy Entertainment rose 16.5% this week (HK was closed on Monday and Tuesday). Sands China, jumped 14.7%. MGM China advanced 12.9%. Wynn Macau gained 12.7%. SJM Holdings rose 11%, while the Hang Seng Index gained 7.8%. Overnight, Melco Crown gained 2.5%.
Most of Wall Street analysts now see gross gaming revenue in April to fall 37-39%. In March, gross gaming revenue fell 39.4%.

Categories Business