Alibaba’s Big Guys Are Buying Stock
6 Min. Read Time
Key News
Asian equities rebounded on light summer volumes as investors sit on the sidelines in advance of the Jackson Hole Fed guidance, though Indonesia, Malaysia, and Pakistan were closed for the birth of Muhammad.
Western media headlines are OBSESSED with Treasury Secretary Bessent’s Iran economic sanctions and how they will affect China. Today, multiple Western journalists asked China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson about Iran and China, while Chinese journalists focused on the World Robotics Conference. There is talk that the US will raise tariffs on China, though, isn’t this just the “Art of the Deal” in advance of the Trump-Xi meeting next month?
What got zero, and I mean ZERO, exposure in the US media was the US-China diplomatic meeting that took place yesterday in Beijing. Mainland China media reported that Wang Huning, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, met with US officials in Beijing yesterday, marking the third meeting since President Trump’s China trip. In China, the meeting was well publicized, but there was ZERO coverage here. I wonder why……..
It was a quiet night, so we will keep things brief. It was interesting that Southbound Stock Connect, i.e. Mainland trading in Hong Kogn, accounted for only 18% of Hong Kong's volume, which is below average, as Mainland investors sold a net -$832 million worth of Hong Kong-listed stocks and ETFs today. Alibaba gained +1.51% following yesterday's report that Chairman Tsai and CEO Eddie Wu bought stock. Mainland media is reporting that Jack Ma bought $76 million (HKD 600 million) worth of Alibaba’s Hong Kong stock, while Joe Tsai filed that he bought 720,000 more shares today, according to an SEC filing. Mainland investors sold a net -$23 million (HKD 183 million).
As we wrote yesterday, a Mainland media article asked why Alibaba would dilute shareholders via a stock sale when it has significant cash on its balance sheet. The net cash, cash less liabilities, isn’t as large, especially in light of the RMB 44 billion of Q2 cash burn, while the restaurant delivery war likely cost the company RMB 80 billion to 100 billion in cash via subsidies. With US interest rates high, diluting shareholders by 3.8%, higher than Alphabet’s dilution of 1.85%, was a better option than tapping the bond market. Fair, though the 3.8% was after the US listing fell 8% on Friday.
Meituan fell by -6.65% folloing PDD Holdings' results yesterday, raising competition concerns, and anxiety around Friday’s financial results from the company. PDD may have weighed on JD.com (-0.26%) and Trip.com (-1.11%), though Tencent gained +0.45% and Netease closed higher by +2.1%.
YOFC ripped +15.41% following yesterday’s financial results. Nonferrous metals were weak in both markets while Mainland China managed a small gain. Mainland AI supply chain stocks were mixed overnight, though CATL fell by -2.88% in Mainland China and by -2.74% in Hong Kong. Mainland-listed China equity ETFs have seen inflows pick up over the last week and, to a lesser extent, over the last month.
Chengdu became the latest local government to focus on the local real estate market, following Beijing’s local government, as overnight they releaseda the “Notice on Further Optimizing and Promoting the Stable and Healthy Development of the Real Estate Market”.
The National Energy Administration reported total installed power generation capacity increased +11% YoY to 4.08 billion kilowatts, with solar +16.1% to 1.29 billion kilowatts and wind +19.5% to 690 million kilowatts.
First Half 2026 Financial Releases From Key Mainland-Listed Companies (Reported After Close):
- Integrated circuit device maker Naura reported first half 2026 revenue increased +24.9% year-over-year (YoY) to RMB 20.16 billion, net profit increased +5% to RMB 3.37 billion, and earnings per share (EP) increased +4.47% to RMB 9.83.
- Pharmaceutical contract research organization Wuxi Biologics adjusted its first half profit forecast higher by +38%.
- Printed circuit board maker HDGF reported first half profit increased +73% to RMB 2.92 billion.
- Wind turbine maker Goldwind reported first half profit increased +24% to RMB 1.86 billion.
Last Night's Performance
| Country / Index | Ticker | 1-Day Change |
|---|---|---|
| China (Hong Kong) | HSI Index | 0% |
| Hang Seng Tech | HSTECH Index | -0.1% |
| Hong Kong Turnover | HKTurn Index | -12.7% |
| Hong Kong Short Sale Turnover | HKSST Index | -8.1% |
| Short Turnover as a % of Hong Kong Turnover | N/A | 22% |
| Southbound Stock Connect Net Buy/Sell (US $ Millions) | N/A | -843.58 |
| China (Shanghai) | SHCOMP Index | 0.2% |
| China (Shenzhen) | SZCOMP Index | 0.3% |
| China (STAR Board) | Star50 Index | 0.1% |
| Mainland Turnover | .chturn Index | -8.8% |
| Japan | NKY Index | 0.5% |
| India | SENSEX Index | 0.4% |
| Indonesia | JCI Index | -0.4% |
| Malaysia | FBMKLCI Index | 0% |
| Pakistan | KSE100 Index | 0.2% |
| Philippines | PCOMP Index | -1% |
| South Korea | KOSPI Index | 0.7% |
| Taiwan | TWSE Index | 0.9% |
| Thailand | SET Index | -0.3% |
| Singapore | STI Index | 1% |
| Australia | AS51 Index | 0.7% |
| Vietnam | VNINDEX Index | 0% |
| Indicator | Hong Kong | Mainland China |
|---|---|---|
| Today's Volume % of 1-Year Average | 92% | 73% |
| Advancing Stocks | 276 | 3,927 |
| Declining Stocks | 241 | 1,161 |
| Outperforming Factors | Liquidity, Growth, EPS Revision | ESG Score, Quality, Growth |
| Underperforming Factors | Low Volatility | Momentum, EPS Revision, Dividend Yield |
| Top Sectors | Healthcare, Tech, Utilities | Healthcare, Communication, Discretionary |
| Bottom Sectors | Materials, Industrials, Real Estate | Materials, Industrials, Financials |
| Top Subsectors | Semis Equipment, Pharmaceutical, Paper/Packaging | Chemical, Retail, Biotech |
| Bottom Subsectors | Non Ferrous Metal, Electrical Equipment, Consumer Discretionary Distribution | Precious Metal, Soft Drink, Base Metals |
| Southbound Connect Buys | Meituan (Large), YOFC (Small) | N/A |
| Southbound Connect Sells | KB Laminates (Large), HS Tech ETF, Tencent, Z AI (Moderate), Alibaba, Minimax (Small) | N/A |
| MSCI China All Shares Index | # of Stocks | Average 1-Day Change (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Hong Kong Listed | 165 | 0.19 |
| Communication Services | 11 | 0.6 |
| Consumer Discretionary | 28 | -0.25 |
| Consumer Staples | 13 | 0.07 |
| Energy | 6 | -0.44 |
| Financials | 25 | -0.14 |
| Health Care | 16 | 2.7 |
| Industrials | 22 | -1.08 |
| Information Technology | 12 | 2.17 |
| Materials | 14 | -2.33 |
| Real Estate | 7 | -0.8 |
| Utilities | 11 | 0.69 |
| Mainland China Listed | 386 | -0.21 |
| Communication Services | 8 | 1.33 |
| Consumer Discretionary | 26 | 0.94 |
| Consumer Staples | 19 | 0.37 |
| Energy | 12 | -0.18 |
| Financials | 64 | -0.29 |
| Health Care | 31 | 1.61 |
| Industrials | 58 | -0.6 |
| Information Technology | 95 | 0.1 |
| Materials | 52 | -2.13 |
| US & Hong Kong Dually Listed | Ticker | 1-Day Change (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Tencent HK | 700 HK Equity | 0.5 |
| Alibaba HK | 9988 HK Equity | 1.5 |
| JD.com HK | 9618 HK Equity | -0.3 |
| NetEase HK | 9999 HK Equity | 2.1 |
| Yum China HK | 9987 HK Equity | -1.1 |
| Baozun HK | 9991 HK Equity | -1.3 |
| Baidu HK | 9888 HK Equity | 0.1 |
| Autohome HK | 2518 HK Equity | -0.2 |
| Bilibili HK | 9626 HK Equity | 0.2 |
| Trip.com HK | 9961 HK Equity | -1.1 |
| EDU HK | 9901 HK Equity | 1.6 |
| Xpeng HK | 9868 HK Equity | -9.2 |
| Weibo HK | 9898 HK Equity | 1.6 |
| Li Auto HK | 2015 HK Equity | -3.6 |
| Nio Auto HK | 9866 HK Equity | -3.5 |
| Zhihu HK | 2390 HK Equity | -0.8 |
| KE HK | 2423 HK Equity | -2.7 |
| Tencent Music Entertainment HK | 1698 HK Equity | -0.1 |
| Meituan HK | 3690 HK Equity | -6.7 |
| Hong Kong's Most Heavily Traded by Value | 1-Day Change (%) |
|---|---|
| ALIBABA GROUP HOLDING LTD | 1.5 |
| YANGTZE OPTICAL FIBRE AND-H | 15.4 |
| MEITUAN-CLASS B | -6.7 |
| TENCENT HOLDINGS LTD | 0.5 |
| LENOVO GROUP LTD | 3.9 |
| KINGBOARD LAMINATES HLDG LTD | 13.8 |
| Z AI CO LTD | 5.2 |
| SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURI-H | 1.6 |
| MINIMAX GROUP INC | -4 |
| WUXI BIOLOGICS CAYMAN INC | 7.4 |
| Shanghai and Shenzhen's Most Heavily Traded by Value | 1-Day Change (%) |
|---|---|
| ZHONGJI INNOLIGHT CO LTD-A | -2.8 |
| HENGTONG OPTIC-ELECTRIC CO-A | 6.9 |
| GIGADEVICE SEMICONDUCTO-CL A | 3.6 |
| EOPTOLINK TECHNOLOGY INC L-A | -2.7 |
| CXMT CORP-A | -0.2 |
| CAMBRICON TECHNOLOGIES-A | 4.3 |
| SUZHOU TFC OPTICAL COMMUNI-A | 3 |
| SUZHOU DONGSHAN PRECISION-A | -1.4 |
| CONTEMPORARY AMPEREX TECHN-A | -2.9 |
| WUXI APPTEC CO LTD-A | 3.3 |
Last Night's Exchange Rates, Prices, & Yields
- CNY per USD 6.72 versus 6.72 yesterday
- CNY per EUR 7.83 versus 7.84 yesterday
- Yield on 10-Year Government Bond 1.68% versus 1.68% yesterday
- Yield on 10-Year China Development Bank Bond 1.76% versus 1.76% yesterday
- Copper Price +0.38%
- Steel Price +0.29%
