The stock prices of Macau’s six concessionaires all nosedived by more than 10% on Monday as the Hong Kong Stock Exchange fell sharply in response to US President Donald Trump’s new tariff policy.
Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day”, announced on 2 April, include a 34% increase in tariffs on China, which will take effect on 9 April.
Impacted by the news, Hong Kong’s stock market opened Monday with a plunge of 2,119 points, or nearly 9%, with the decline gradually widening throughout the day. The market eventually closed down 3,021 points, or 13%, at 19,828 points in the afternoon. This was the biggest one-day point drop in the Hong Kong stock market since records began, with local media dubbing it “Black Monday”.
Gaming stocks were dragged down by the market, with the Hong Kong-listed entities of all six Macau concessionaires falling sharply.
Galaxy Entertainment closed at HK$26.40, down HK$3.75, or 12.4% – a new low eight-year low – while Sands China closed at HK$13.36, down HK$2.20 or 14.2%.
Wynn Macau stood at HK$4.81, down HK$0.72 or 13.02%, with Melco International down HK$0.63 or 16.07% to HK$3.29.
SJM Holdings was the biggest loser, down HK$0.44 or 18.03% to HK$2.00 – its lowest in more than eight years.
MGM China the least among the six concessionaires, dropping HK$1.22 or HK$11.89% to HK$9.04.
Other gaming stocks were also down sharply, with Macau’s Paradise Entertainment dropping more than 20% to HK$1.60 while NagaCorp also fell nearly 20& to HK$2.61 – a 52-week low.
Apart from Hong Kong, stock markets across Asia also suffered sharp falls. China’s Shanghai Stock Exchange Index fell 7.34% to 3,096 points on Monday, while the Nikkei Average fell 2,644 points, or 7.83%, to 31,136 points and Taiwan’s weighted index fell more than 2,000 points or 9.7% to 19,232 points.
