Container shipping stocks rose collectively. As of press time, OOIL (00316) gained 4.23% to HK$152.7; COSCO SHIP HOLD (01919) rose 2.61% to HK$17.31; TS LINES (02510) climbed 2.08% to HK$13.72; SITC (01308) advanced 0.93% to HK$49.96.

On the news front, shipping giant Maersk announced that effective October 12, it will raise the Emergency Fuel Surcharge (EFS) to 20%. Due to rising fuel costs caused by ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, we regretfully made the difficult decision to increase the Emergency Fuel Surcharge (EFS) for all export pickup and import delivery operations.

Shenyin & Wanguo Futures stated that before the holiday, several shipping companies issued post-holiday price increase notices, with most announcement letters indicating that from October 19, large container freight rates will be raised to between US$4,000 and US$4,500, boosting expectations for post-holiday freight rate stabilization. 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 of late-October freight rate stabilization into a realistic phase.