Alibaba, JD and Meituan surge after China stimulus announcement

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA, 9988.HK), JD.com Inc. (JD, 9618.HK) and Meituan (3690.HK, MPNGY) enjoyed their best trading days in years after the Chinese government announced measures to stimulate the troubled domestic economy. Consumer tech firms were swept up in a buying spree that extended across sectors on bets that Beijing’s wide-ranging new policies will have the desired effect. Meituan and JD rose more than 20% in Hong Kong trading across Thursday and Friday, marking each firm’s best two-day performance since 2022, while Alibaba rose as much as 15% over the period. The Chinese government surprised many with the breadth of its stimulus actions, offering support for the ailing property sector, cash handouts to residents facing hardship and more social security benefits for unemployed graduates. The announcements helped ease concern about the debt-ridden property market and high youth unemployment figures, boosting consumer and internet firms. Cash-rich tech firms like Hangzhou-based Alibaba are leading a surge in repurchases of shares listed in Hong Kong this year. Returns from China’s biggest tech stocks are surpassing those of global rivals, with Alibaba’s shareholder yield at more than 8% at the start of this month, more than double that of any company in the Magnificent Seven in the US. Up until this week, the repurchases had largely been a defensive move to staunch stock declines as doubts about economic weakness persisted, though together with the new announcements from Beijing, the buyback spree is helping revive interest in China’s embattled tech firms.