Why Alibaba, Nio, Chinese Peers Are Trading Higher in Hong Kong Today

Shares of major U.S.-listed Chinese companies inched higher in Hong Kong on Friday, with tech giants like Alibaba Group Holdings BABA, Tencent Holdings TCEHY, Baidu Inc BIDU, and JD.com Inc JD gaining at least a percent.

In the electric vehicle segment, Xpeng Inc XPEV led the rally with 8.27% gains, while Li Auto Inc LI and Nio Inc NIO also traded in the green.

Shares of these Chinese companies ended on a similar note in the U.S. markets overnight.

Global Markets Recap: At press time, the benchmark Hang Seng Index was trading 1.42% higher, deriving cues from global markets. 

In the U.S., the Dow Jones index closed 0.64% higher after another bumpy session.

Elsewhere, Shanghai's SSE Composite Index gained 0.52%, Singapore's SGX Nifty was up 0.64%, while Japan's Nikkei 225 inched 0.73% higher.

Macro Factors: U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warned that rapidly rising interest rates threatened a recession. Powell also told Congress that policymakers would move aggressively to fight inflation but said the U.S. economy is "well-positioned" to handle rate hikes.

China's state television CCTV, citing a State Council meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang, reported that the government is considering extending exemptions by about 200 billion yuan ($30 billion).

The report added that policies such as waiving taxes would bolster demand for new energy vehicles and stimulate the used-car market.

Company In News: JPMorgan is doubling down on Alibaba, JD, and other Chinese tech stocks amid easing regulatory crackdown, valuation, and supportive macroeconomic policy measures that pose positive catalysts for these stocks.

Jack Ma's Ant Group, in which Alibaba owns a one-third stake, is likely to apply to The People's Bank of China to become a financial holding company.

German automaker BMW BMWYY has started production at a new $2.24 billion electric vehicle plant in Shenyang, China, as it looks to take on Tesla Inc TSLA, Nio, and other fast-growing local EV rivals.

Two and a half years after its first vehicle delivery, XPeng has reached the milestone of 200,000 vehicle deliveries.