HK Stock Market Move | The gaming stocks continue to decline, with Macau's gambling revenue in February performing better than expected. JP Morgan says the market is shifting its focus to factors such as profit margins.

The gambling stocks continue to decline. As of the time of writing, Melco Int'l Dev (00200) fell by 4.16% to HK$3.92; Galaxy Ent (00027) fell by 3.3% to HK$38.08; Sands China (01928) fell by 2.17% to HK$17.12; Wynn Macau (01128) fell by 1.25% to HK$5.55. On the news front, on March 1st, according to data from the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau of Macau, the gross gaming revenue of Macau in February was MOP 20.627 billion, a year-on-year increase of 4.5%. The accumulated gross gaming revenue in the first two months of Macau reached MOP 43.261 billion, a year-on-year increase of 13.9%. JP Morgan released a research report stating that Macau's total gaming revenue (GGR) in February increased by 4% year-on-year to MOP 20.6 billion, with a daily average income of MOP 737 million, exceeding market expectations. JP Morgan pointed out that with the inclusion of February data, GGR in the first two months of this year increased by 14% year-on-year, returning to 86% of the level before the epidemic, consistent with the strong growth momentum in the second half of last year. However, the bank believes that the performance of GGR in March will not catalyze the industry's stock prices, as investors' focus has shifted to profit margins and EBITDA growth. Although the bank has indeed seen initial signs of quarterly improvement, it still calls for selectivity.