The Japan Times - Stock markets rise as Alibaba fuels Hong Kong tech rally

The gains followed a week marked by uncertainty as traders weighed the economic outlook in light of Donald Trump's tariffs drive and geopolitical machinations.

Asian equities led gains, with Shanghai rising and Hong Kong piling on more four percent to hit a three-year high fuelled by tech firms.

“The gains in Hong Kong and China came amid renewed excitement about the tech sector in the region as Alibaba announced big AI spending plans," said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

China's Alibaba rocketed more than 14 percent following its forecast-busting earnings figures the previous day. The firm has bounced nearly 70 percent higher since the turn of the year.

Other household names pushed the Hang Seng Index higher, Tencent added more than six percent, JD.com and XD Inc gained more than five percent.

China's tech sector has been on a roll this year, and has been given an extra boost since startup DeepSeek unveiled a chatbot that upended the global AI sector.

In the eurozone, Paris and Frankfurt stock markets rose after a closely watch survey showed that business activity grew again albeit at a very small pace.

London's FTSE 100 also edged up, shrugging off the same survey that showed UK private sector activity was little changed from a month earlier.

The euro retreated against the dollar ahead of the German election on Sunday, with investors expecting a more expansionary fiscal policy from Berlin to revive Europe's largest economy.

"The election comes against a difficult backdrop for Germany right now, as their economy has just experienced two consecutive annual contractions over 2023 and 2024," said Deutsche Bank's Jim Reid.

Meanwhile, disappointing earnings from retail titan Walmart sparked worries about the impact of US consumer activity on the world's top economy, with all three main Wall Street indexes ending in negative territory.

In Tokyo, the yen retreated after Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato said Friday that rising government bond yields -- which are at their highest since 1999 -- could weigh on economic growth.

That dented expectations the Bank of Japan will announce a series of rate hikes this year, even as data showed Japanese core inflation hit a 19-month high.

Nissan shares jumped nearly 10 percent in Tokyo after a report that a Japanese group including a former prime minister plans to ask US electric vehicle giant Tesla to invest in the automaker.

- Key figures around 1100 GMT -

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 8,680.95 points

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.7 percent at 8,175.77

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.3 percent at 22,375.42

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 38,776.94 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 4.0 percent at 23,477.92 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.9 percent at 3,379.11 (close)

New York - Dow: DOWN 1.0 percent at 44,176.65 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0466 from $1.0505 on Thursday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2646 from $1.2668

Dollar/yen: UP at 150.37 from 149.65 yen

Euro/pound: DOWN at 82.75 pence from 82.90 pence

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.0 percent at $71.75 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.9 percent at $75.75 per barrel

S.Yamamoto--JT