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Alibaba surges 15% in Hong Kong as market logs longest winning streak in 2 years

Alibaba’s revenue and profit in December quarter topped estimates, helping the Hang Seng Index log its longest winning run since January 2023

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Electronic screens showing stock prices and market indices outside a HSBC bank branch in Mong Kok, Hong Kong. Photo: Sam Tsang
Zhang Shidongin Shanghai
Hong Kong stocks advanced to cap another winning week after Alibaba Group Holding’s results beat market consensus, underpinning a bull run in Chinese tech stocks following DeepSeek’s artificial intelligence (AI) breakthrough.

The Hang Seng Index rallied 4 per cent to 23,477.92 on Friday, while the Hang Seng Tech Index climbed 6.5 per cent. Both gauges marked their best day since October. On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index gained 1.3 per cent and the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.9 per cent.

Alibaba soared 15 per cent to HK$138.50 after both revenue and profit for the quarter to December 31 exceeded analysts’ estimates. E-commerce peer JD.com added 5.1 per cent to HK$161.60 and Tencent Holdings strengthened 6.2 per cent to HK$517. Electric vehicle maker BYD appreciated 4.6 per cent to HK$392.40 after JPMorgan raised its price target for the stock by 60 per cent on better sales outlook.

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The Hang Seng Index ended the week with a 3.8 per cent gain, stretching its winning run to six weeks for the longest streak since January 2023. The city’s stock market is the best performer among major equity markets this year, having recouped US$423 billion in value following a re-rating of Chinese tech stocks.

Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley lifted their targets for key Chinese stock indices for 2025, saying a faster adoption of AI could spur economic growth and corporate earnings to justify higher valuations.

DeepSeek “has been a powerful catalyst for China and there’s more [upside] to go”, said Jeffery Xie, an analyst at HSBC Qianhai Securities in Beijing. “The valuation discount to emerging markets [is set] to narrow further.”

Mainland Chinese investors poured HK$51.2 billion (US$6.6 billion) into Hong Kong-listed stock through the Connect this week, exchange data showed, their net purchases to HK$203.4 billion this year. Net inflows totalled HK$807.9 billion in 2024, the most since investment link was launched in 2014.
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