HK Stock Market Move | Container shipping stocks rise collectively; Maersk raises emergency fuel surcharge to 20%, expectations grow for freight rates to stabilize after the holiday.

Container shipping stocks rose collectively. As of press time, OOIL (00316) gained 4.23% to HK$152.7; COSCO Shipping Holdings (01919) rose 2.61% to HK$17.31; TS LINES (02510) climbed 2.08% to HK$13.72; SITC (01308) edged up 0.93% to HK$49.96. On the news front, shipping giant Maersk announced that it will raise its Emergency Fuel Surcharge (EFS) to 20% starting from October 12. Due to rising fuel costs caused by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, we regret to make the difficult decision to increase the Emergency Fuel Surcharge (EFS) for all export pickup and import delivery services. Shenyin & Wanguo Futures stated that multiple shipping companies issued post-holiday price increase notices before the holiday, with the notices mostly indicating that large container freight rates would be raised to US$4,000-4,500 starting from October 19, boosting expectations for freight rates to stabilize after the holiday. MSC further lowered its quotes for the first half of October, but its newly opened large container quote for Week 43 was US$3,840, up US$700 week-on-week, marking the entry into a phase where freight rates are stabilizing in late October.