HONG KONG: Tourism-linked stocks sank in Hong Kong on Tuesday with investors spooked by confirmation that a deadly virus in China can be transmitted between humans, while confidence was also hit by Moody’s decision to downgrade the city’s credit rating.
The new coronavirus strain, which has spread from the mainland city of Wuhan, has sickened more than 200 people.A top scientist at China’s National Health Commission said the strain has now been found to pass between humans, a major worry days before the Lunar New Year holiday, which sees hundreds of millions of people travel across the country.
And Stephen Innes, an analyst at AxiCorp, warned that “the cost to the global economy can be quite staggering in negative GDP terms if this outbreak reaches epidemic proportions, as until this week the market was underestimating the potential of the flu spreading”. Casino operators, who rely on tourism, were also sharply lower. Wynn Macau shed 4.4% and Galaxy Entertainment was off 3.6%.