IMAX China surged as much as 88 per cent to a two-year high of HK$26.30
Ticket sales during the first four days of the holiday hit a record US$882.7 million, increasing 34 per cent from the same period in 2019, Maoyan data showed
Hong Kong stock market finished session higher on the first day of trading of the Year of the Ox, Tuesday, 16 February 2021, after the Lunar New Year holidays as risk sentiments underpinned on tracking Asia-Pacific markets higher on optimism over a global economic recovery and roll-out of Covid-19 vaccines.
At closing bell, the benchmark Hang Seng Index inclined 1.9%, or 573.09 points, to 30,746.66. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index added 1.31%, or 155.66 points, to 12,036.15. China s mainland markets will remain closed for the Lunar New Year celebrations and are scheduled to reopen on Feb. 18.
Shares of energy stocks gained, on tracking firmer commodity prices.
PetroChina surged 13.2% to HK$2.75, while CNOOC soared 9.5% to HK$9.54. Sinopec also added 8.1% to HK$4.12.
Chinese cinemas are back in business and selling even more tickets than before the pandemic.
Local box office takings over the start of the Lunar New Year holiday have already surpassed those of the same period in 2019, despite some restrictions on theater occupancy. The increase gives China another lift after it overtook the United States to become the world’s top movie market last year.
It’s further evidence of a robust upswing in the world’s second biggest economy, which managed to dodge a recession in 2020 and ended the year 2.3% larger than when it started.
China’s box office took in about 4.5 billion yuan ($697 million) over the weekend, which included the first three days of the festivities, according to the latest available data from Chinese ticketing platform Maoyan. That represents a 33% jump compared to the same period in 2019, noted analysts at Citi.