Chinese airline stocks fall heavily, Skymark may order nine more A380s
Chinese airlines led the region sharply lower on Friday on concerns the central bank could move again to curb rising inflation.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index slumped 5.2% - its biggest one-day fall in 14 months - as China's consumer price index rose by 4.4% in Oct-2010, stoking expectations of another tightening of monetary policy, which could dampen demand. Sensitive sectors such as airlines were hard hit. Shandong Airlines shed 10% and Hainan Airlines 8.3%, while the "big three" state-owned carriers all slumped around 5%.
Skymark fell 1% as the airline stated it plans to order nine more A380s, in addition to an MoU for four A380s signed with Airbus in Friday.
Qantas slipped 2.4% as the carrier confirmed its A380 fleet would remain grounded for at least a further 48 hours. Thai Airways dropped 2.1% as it revealed a worse-than-expected third-quarter net profit.
Asia Pacific selected airlines daily share price movements (% change): 12-Nov-2010
Source: Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, Reuters & Financial Times