BABA-W (09988) surged over 4% in late trading, closing up 3.97% at HK$164.8 with a turnover of HK$11.389 billion. Recent developments in Alibaba's Taobao Deals have drawn market attention. On November 3, the Ele.me app completed an update to version 12.0.1, officially rebranding as "Taobao Deals," though the update remains in limited testing. On November 5, job postings on Boss Zhipin indicated overlapping recruitment for positions at Taobao Deals and Ele.me, fueling merger speculation. By November 6, Tmall Double 11 data revealed that new users acquired through Taobao Deals had already generated over 100 million e-commerce orders during the shopping festival.

East Asia Securities noted that Alibaba is expected to announce its Q2 fiscal results in mid-November, with overall revenue growth projected to slow to 4% YoY. However, cloud revenue growth is anticipated to accelerate beyond 30%, serving as a potential highlight. China e-commerce revenue is forecasted to rise 12% YoY, largely driven by contributions from Taobao Deals. Despite this, increased investments in food delivery and flash sales, alongside rising capital expenditures for AI-related infrastructure, may continue to pressure adjusted profit margins in the near term.