Casino stocks continued to decline. As of press time, Melco International Development Ltd (00200) fell 3.43% to HK$2.815; MGM China Holdings Ltd (02282) dropped 3.14% to HK$9.56; SJM Holdings Ltd (00880) slipped 2.46% to HK$1.39; and Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd (00027) declined 1.87% to HK$31.42.

On the news front, Wang Shuxin, chairman of the Macau Hotel Association, said in an interview that with the Mid-Autumn Festival approaching, Macau's overall hotel occupancy rate has reached 80%. With the National Day Golden Week still some time away, hotel booking rates for the first three days of the Golden Week have reached 70% to 80% so far, with hotels in the Cotai area seeing relatively higher occupancy. Based on past experience, overall hotel occupancy is expected to climb to 90% during the period, with occupancy on the fourth and fifth days of the holiday expected to ease somewhat.

Citi released a research report stating that its September survey of high-end mass-market gaming tables in Macau produced one of the worst results in recent years. It observed that the betting atmosphere in casinos was generally quieter than it was three months ago when the World Cup had just begun, though it could not yet determine the reason for the weak sentiment. As a result, the bank cautiously lowered its September gaming revenue forecast from MOP 19 billion to MOP 18 billion, implying that Macau's third-quarter gaming revenue this year is expected to fall 4% year-on-year.

CLSA said that, as it has not seen sufficient supportive macroeconomic indicators, it has turned more cautious on the outlook for Macau gaming revenue.