The Financial Times declares victory for Sotheby’s after this week’s sales in Hong Kong:

Total sales from the six-day auctions netted HK$3.2bn ($411m), surpassing the bids (some $400m) in last year’s autumn auctions in the city and Sotheby’s own pre-sale estimate of HK$2.7bn. […] Sotheby’s shares have fallen as much as 30 per cent in the last month on concerns that Chinese buyers – who bought 23 per cent of all lots purchased in Sotheby’s auctions last year – would stop spending.

As the Hong Kong results came in this week, the stock gained 15 per cent. It closed at $29.82 on Thursday, the final day of the auctions.

“All eyes are on the Hong Kong auctions as an indicator of whether wealthy Chinese buyers are still willing to spend on high-end art,” said Kristine Koerber, managing director at Merriman Capital in New York. “The solid results should boost confidence in the art market.”

HK Auctions Signal a Resilient Art Market (Financial Times)