Alibaba just had its best day in 10 months. Is it time for China techs to catch up?

By Steve Goldstein

Alibaba shares jumped in Hong Kong trade on Wednesday.

Alibaba on Wednesday saw its best single share-price gain in 10 months, as the broader Chinese tech sector revved higher after missing the rally propelling U.S., Korean and Taiwanese companies.

Alibaba shares (HK:9988) zoomed 12.2% higher in Hong Kong trade, its best single day since Sept. 1. Alibaba American depository receipts (BABA) jumped 9% in premarket trade.

The Chinese business-news website Jiemian News, without attribution, said Alibaba's fiscal first-quarter earnings preview shows that its struggling e-commerce business has resumed growth.

Other Chinese tech companies also rallied, with Xiaomi (HK:1810) shares up 9%, Lenovo (HK:992) stock up 7% and Baidu (HK:9888) (BIDU)also rising 7%.

The KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF KWEB jumped 4% in premarket trade.

It came as the PHLX semiconductor index SOX fell 5% on Tuesday, falling 15% from its peak reached on June 22.

The Kospi KR:180721 index of Korean stocks fell into a technical bear market as shares of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix slump after a major rally.

Alibaba's ADRs have stumbled 33% this year.

Admittedly, analyst expectations for Alibaba earnings in fiscal 2027 have declined markedly - from $10.35 per share last year down to just $6.29 now, according to FactSet.

That comes as Alibaba, like its U.S. counterparts, is spending heavily on cloud infrastructure and its own Qwen large language model.

Its core e-commerce business also faces pressure from a languid Chinese spending environment.

-Steve Goldstein

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07-08-26 0909ET