What's Going On With Alibaba Stock Tuesday?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited BABA stock is trading higher Tuesday amid reports of Apple Inc's AAPL new iPhone 15 series available for steep discounts on Chinese e-commerce websites for its Double 11 online sales extravaganza, also known as Singles' Day which falls on November 11 each year.

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The discounting marks the iPhonemaker's stiff competition against Huawei Technologies' Mate 60 Pro 5G handset amid escalating geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China, SCMP reports.

The iPhone 15 and 15 Plus were available for 800 yuan ($109) and 900 yuan cheaper than their official retail prices on Alibaba's Taobao platform. Alibaba's Taobao and Tmall Group will begin presales for Singles' Day on the evening of October 24.

The basic 128-gigabyte iPhone 15 was available for 5,198 yuan – 801 yuan less than its retail price on PDD Holdings Inc' PDD Pinduoduo.

According to Counterpoint Research, the first 17 days of sales of the iPhone 15 series in China were down 4.5% compared to the iPhone 14, which it sees as a reflection of the broader decline in consumer spending. Jefferies estimated that sales of the iPhone 15 in China were down by a sharp double-digit percentage from its predecessor, the iPhone 14.

In September, Huawei raised its sales target for the second half of 2023 by 20% to give a full-year total sales volume of 40 million smartphones.

Meanwhile, China has removed General Li Shangfu as defense minister in the country's second leadership shake-up in three months for reasons undisclosed. The nation replaced Qin Gang as foreign minister in July. 

The abrupt removals coincided with the initiation of Xi Jinping's third term as the party's leader last October. 

Price Action: BABA shares traded lower by 2.94% at $82.87 on the last check Tuesday.