North America Luxury Stocks Drop as Hong Kong Protests Mount

NEW YORK, United States — Tiffany & Co., Estée Lauder Cos., Movado Group Inc. and other North America luxury-goods stocks sank after protests in Hong Kong escalated and all flights at the region’s airport were cancelled.

Hong Kong is a major market for expensive consumer products, and the protests, which have continued for 10 straight weekends, are disrupting retail businesses, travel and gaming.

An index of North America luxury goods has fallen nearly 30 percent since late April, when protests began over a — now shelved — extradition bill. That compares to a drop of about 1.6 percent for the S&P 500 Index over the same period. The group has also been battered by the continued back-and-forth of the US-China trade war.

The Bloomberg North America Luxury Goods Index (BIUSLGCP) fell as much as 3.6 percent on Monday, extending Friday’s 3.7 percent drop. Top decliners in the index include Fossil Group Inc., Tapestry Inc. and Capri Holdings Ltd. Non-index member Signet Jewelers Ltd. plunged as much as 12 percent. Earlier, European luxury names including LVMH, Richemont and Burberry fell on bourses in Paris, London, Frankfurt, Zurich and Copenhagen.

By Janet Freund; Editors: Catherine Larkin, Morwenna Coniam