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Casino shares in the Chinese gambling enclave of Macau fell Wednesday, a result weak travel expectations for the Lunar New Year holiday period and diminishing high roller activity.
From Bloomberg News:
Wells Fargo & Co. said its checks suggested weak revenue trends in both VIP and mass segments, with a number of mass tables empty on the third and fourth days of Lunar New Year, analyst Cameron McKnight wrote in a note. Macau gross gaming revenue may fall 53.5 percent this month, according to the median estimate of eight analysts surveyed by Bloomberg, worst than the 40 percent drop forecast before the holiday started.
China’s Lunar New Year, which started on Feb. 19 this year and is among the most heavily traveled periods with last February setting records in Macau.
“We’re still cautious on gaming stocks,” Daphne Roth, head of Asian equity research at ABN Amro Private Banking which manages about $218 billion, said over the telephone. “The Chinese government is determined to pursue its anti-corruption drive and that’s negative on the casino stocks.”
Last month Chinese President Xi Jinping began a crackdown on corruption and conspicuous spending that has managed to deter wealthy Chinese gamblers away from Macau, which today is the world’s largest gambling hub.
- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com
