Baidu Group saw strong gains, rising nearly 6% intraday to HKD 125.5. As of writing, the stock was up 5.32%, with trading volume exceeding HKD 800 million.

The rally follows reports that Baidu is accelerating its global autonomous ride-hailing business. As of October 31, its Apollo Go division recorded over 250,000 weekly fully driverless ride-hailing orders—a scale comparable to Waymo’s paid ride volume in the U.S. as of late April this year.

Apollo Go operates autonomous taxis primarily in Wuhan, as well as parts of Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, with expansion underway in Hong Kong, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Switzerland. Autonomous taxi services typically undergo public testing before securing regulatory approval for commercial operations. Apollo Go has completed 17 million orders to date, covering 240 million kilometers and facilitating 140 million driverless rides.

Additionally, Baidu is set to release its quarterly earnings before the U.S. market opens on November 18 and will hold its annual technology conference in Beijing on November 13.