Why Trip.com Group (TCOM) Shares Are Falling

Trip.com Group Ltd TCOM shares are trading lower by 4.16% to $48.18 Monday morning. Following China’s announcement of a lower-than-expected GDP growth of 4.7% for the second quarter, several Chinese stocks are experiencing a decline. Analysts had predicted a growth rate of 5.1%.

Economic growth is closely tied to consumer spending power. When the economy slows, consumers tend to tighten their belts, reducing discretionary spending, including on travel. Trip.com, as an online travel agency, relies heavily on consumers having disposable income to spend on travel and vacations.

Economic slowdowns also affect corporate spending. Companies cut costs by reducing business travel budgets. This impacts Trip.com’s revenue from business travel bookings.

Read Also: Mohamed El-Erian Notes China’s Q2 GDP Growth Disappoints At 4.7% Amid Real Estate Woes

How To Buy TCOM Stock

By now you're likely curious about how to participate in the market for Trip.com Group – be it to purchase shares, or even attempt to bet against the company.

Buying shares is typically done through a brokerage account. You can find a list of possible trading platforms here. Many will allow you to buy ‘fractional shares,' which allows you to own portions of stock without buying an entire share. For example, some stock, like Berkshire Hathaway, or Amazon.com, can cost thousands of dollars to own just one share. However, if you only want to invest a fraction of that, brokerages will allow you to do so.

In the the case of Trip.com Group, which is trading at $48.42 as of publishing time, $100 would buy you 2.07 shares of stock.

If you're looking to bet against a company, the process is more complex. You'll need access to an options trading platform, or a broker who will allow you to ‘go short' a share of stock by lending you the shares to sell. The process of shorting a stock can be found at this resource. Otherwise, if your broker allows you to trade options, you can either buy a put option, or sell a call option at a strike price above where shares are currently trading – either way it allows you to profit off of the share price decline.

According to data from Benzinga Pro, TCOM has a 52-week high of $58.00 and a 52-week low of $31.55.