Zhitong Financial APP learned that shipping stocks rose again in the afternoon. As of press time, COSCO Haineng (01138) rose 7.51% to HK $3.15; COSCO Shipping Holdings (01919) rose 4.35% to HK $13.44; SITC International Holdings (01308) rose 3.99% to HK $29.95; Orient Overseas (00316) rose 3.25% to HK $149.2.

On the news side, Zhang Yongfeng, chief consultant of the Shanghai International Shipping Research Center, said that considering the impact of the latest Omicron virus strain on epidemic prevention policy, the short-term freight rate increase is expected to continue until before the Spring Festival. In addition, Morgan Stanley said that freight rates for Southeast Asian routes increased by 11.3% on a weekly basis, which had a positive impact on COSCO Shipping Holdings. Shanghai's export container freight index rose 1% on a weekly basis last week, unchanged from the previous week. On the other hand, the freight rates of Europe / Mediterranean / western United States / eastern United States routes fell by 0.04% / flat / flat / up 0.1% respectively on a weekly basis.