Why Alibaba Is Shooting Up Today In A Muted Hong Kong Market While Rivals Dip

Shares of $Alibaba (BABA.US)$ rose in Hong Kong on Wednesday, while $Baidu (BIDU.US)$ , $JD.com (JD.US)$ , $XPeng (XPEV.US)$ and $Li Auto (LI.US)$ fell and $Tencent (TCEHY.US)$ traded flat.

What’s Moving: Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba’s shares traded 3.5% higher at HKD 122.90 in Hong Kong, while peer JD.Com’s shares have lost 1.3% to HKD 300.60.Alibaba has registered a new company named Yuanjing Shengsheng in Beijing to test the gaming potential of the metaverse, it was reported on Tuesday, citing the South China Morning Post. Technology company Baidu’s shares have fallen 1.1% to HKD 138.70, while tech conglomerate Tencent’s shares traded flat at HKD 459.20. Electric vehicle maker Xpeng’s shares have lost 1.4% to HKD 173.80 and peer Li Auto is down 0.7% to HKD 121.60. Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index opened higher on Wednesday and was up 0.2% at the time of writing. The index closed 1.3% lower on Tuesday, extending losses to a third straight session.

Why Is It Moving? The Hang Seng Index traded slightly higher amid optimism China will further ease policies to support economic growth.

Economic data released on Wednesday painted a mixed picture of the Chinese economy. China’s industrial output for November rose 3.8% year-over-year and beat expectations for a 3.6% rise, according to a report by Reuters.

Meanwhile, retail sales in November increased 3.9% from a year earlier, but was below the 4.6% growth expected, underscoring the headwinds facing the world’s second-largest economy.

Nevertheless, investors remained cautious ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement due later on Wednesday. The Fed is widely expected to accelerate its timetable for reducing bond purchases.