By Jack Denton
Alibaba, Baidu, JD.com, and other Chinese tech stocks were falling Friday as continued trade tensions between the U.S. and China heaped pressure on companies listed in Hong Kong.
It could be a buying opportunity, especially for Alibaba.
American depositary receipts, or ADRs, for Alibaba -- essentially the company's U.S.-listed stock -- fell 1.5% in U.S. premarket trading on Friday. ADRs for Chinese tech peers JD.com and Baidu were down 1% and 2%, respectively. The Hong Kong-listed shares of all three companies also fell, with the benchmark Hang Seng Index shedding 2.5%.
"U.S.-China trade tensions are negatively impacting sentiment," Deutsche Bank analyst Peter Sidorov wrote in a Friday note, adding that China's Ministry of Commerce accused the U.S. of inciting "panic" about Beijing's new controls of rare-earth exports.
Chinese rules on exports of rare-earth minerals -- which are integral to the global technology supply chain -- have been the latest salvo in an escalating trade conflict between Beijing and Washington.
These tensions have been a key source of uncertainty for investors this week, weighing on the S&P 500 and the whole stock market -- but especially Chinese names such as Alibaba.
The drawdown, with Alibaba stock down almost 3% in the past five days, could be a buying opportunity.
The Chinese tech giant, which has a core business but online commerce but an increasingly promising cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) arm, has been on a tear -- and analysts are upbeat.
Alibaba stock is up 95% so far this year and many analysts believe the momentum can continue, with the shares shaking off a multiyear funk linked to regulatory headwinds, geopolitical risks, and Chinese growth concerns. AI has been a major catalyst for Alibaba's revitalization.
"Alibaba's investment in AI goes beyond AI hardwares -- it is a dominant player in China's LLM market," referring to large language models such as ChatGPT, Nomura analysts Jialong Shi and Rachel Guo wrote in a note last week.
Nomura lifted its price target on Alibaba stock from $170 to $215 with a Buy rating shared by many on Wall Street. Alibaba stock closed at $165.09 on Thursday, suggesting significant upside based on Nomura's estimates.
More positive news on the AI front this week only bolsters that thesis.
Alibaba is already making back what it spends on AI in online retail, according to reports out of Shanghai on Thursday citing the company's vice president, Kaifu Zhang. This should temper worries about AI spending amid early profitability, which has been a bit of an overhang for the stock.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 17, 2025 09:58 ET (13:58 GMT)
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