China's outbound tourism surges for Spring Festival, Japan sees sharp decline

Chinese travelers are set to embark on a surge of overseas trips during the upcoming Spring Festival holiday, with Russia, Australia and Thailand being top destinations, while Japan's popularity has plummeted amid strained bilateral relations, according to travel agencies and media reports.

The Spring Festival, also known as the Chinese New Year, lands on Feb 17 this year, and is the most important traditional festival for the Chinese and a time for family reunions. This year's Spring Festival holiday runs for nine days from Feb 15.

According to Shanghai Spring International Travel Service, the travel unit of budget carrier Spring Airlines, tour group bookings to Russia have more than doubled compared to the same period last year.

Trip.com, China's largest online travel booking platform, reported over a 100-percent increase year on year in the number of tourists visiting Australia, reflecting strong recovery in long-haul travel.

In contrast, simmering political tension with Japan has eroded its appeal for Chinese visitors, who previously made it a top choice, according to reports on Thursday.

Kyodo News noted on the same day that during the first week of China's 40-day Spring Festival travel rush, which started on Feb 2, flights between the two countries decreased by 1,292 from the previous year, a drop of 49.2 percent.

Domestically, travel demand is split between tropical and snowy getaways, as trips to the country's southernmost island province of Hainan and northeastern Changbai Mountain are especially popular, media outlets said.

China's outbound tourism surges for Spring Festival, Japan sees sharp decline

U.S. stocks ended lower on Tuesday as climbing U.S. Treasury yields continued to weigh on investor sentiment.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 322.24 points, or 0.65 percent, to 49,363.88. The The Standard and Poor's 500 sank 49.44 points, or 0.67 percent, to 7,353.61, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index shed 220.03 points, or 0.84 percent, to close at 25,870.71.

A primary source of downward pressure came from the fixed-income market. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note climbed back above 4.6 percent, while the 30-year Treasury yield nearly touched 5.2 percent, marking its highest level in nearly 19 years.

The high-yield environment acted as a drag on high-valuation growth sectors, which are particularly sensitive to elevated interest rates. Six of the 11 primary The Standard and Poor's 500 sectors closed in negative territory, with materials and communication services leading the declines by dropping 2.27 percent and 1.58 percent, respectively. In contrast, the healthcare sector gained 1.09 percent and the energy sector advanced 1.03 percent.

Market participants are also focusing on Wednesday's upcoming after-hours earnings release from Nvidia.

U.S. stocks close lower amid rising yields