Baidu Inc. shares jumped by the most in more than three years in Hong Kong as optimism over its AI chip potential grows. The stock soared 16% in Hong Kong, the most since March 2022 and adding $6.4 billion in market value. The surge came after Arete Research Services LLP lifted its rating on Baidu’s American depositary receipts to buy from sell — it had held the only sell recommendation on the stock since it downgraded it last May. Most Read from Bloomberg Other analysts at firms including Citigroup I ...

>> GOOD MORNING. THIS IS HORIZONS MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA. DECISION DAY.INVESTORS ARE CLOSELY WATCHING WHAT COULD BE ONE OF THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY FEDERAL RESERVE MEETINGS EVER WITH PRESIDENT TRUMP RESHAPING THE ECONOMY. CHINA’S FANS WITH LESS THAN 20%. IT WILL CONTINUE UNTIL HAMAS IS DEFEATED AND HOSTAGES ARE FREED.IT’S GONE 8:00 A. M. ACROSS THE EMIRATES.I’M JOUMANNA BERCETCHI. WE GOT THERE, EVERYBODY. IT WAS GOING TO BE A BIG ONE FOR MARKET PARTICIPANTS.ANYONE WHO HAS BEEN WATCHING THESE GLOBAL MARKETS CL ...

** Mainland Chinese stocks hovered near a 3-1/2-year peak. ** China's blue-chip CSI300 Index was up 0.6% by the lunch break, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.4%. Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index was up 1.4%. ** Tech majors, which traded in Hong Kong, jumped 3.5% following an overnight rally of their counterparts in New York. ** Baidu surged nearly 16% to its highest level since October 2023. Shares of Alibaba were up 5% at their strongest point since November 2022.Live Events ** A number of ...

Core Insights - Baidu has launched multiple AI applications following the public approval of its Ernie chatbot, leading to a significant increase in its stock price [1] - The company secured an AI-related partnership with China Merchants Group, focusing on large language models and AI applications [2] - Baidu is actively pursuing its AI business, including a $56.2 million offshore bond offering to enhance its competitive position in the AI sector [3] Group 1 - Baidu's shares in Hong Kong surged by up to 12% and gained 9% in U.S. trading, reflecting strong market confidence in its AI initiatives [1] - The partnership with China Merchants Group aims to develop scalable and sustainable industrial intelligence solutions [2] - The offshore bond offering of 4.4 billion yuan ($56.2 million) is part of Baidu's strategy to strengthen its financial resources for AI competition [3] Group 2 - The company is focusing on applications of large language models and AI agents, indicating a strategic shift towards advanced AI technologies [2] - Other Chinese tech firms, such as Tencent, are also raising funds to enhance their AI capabilities, highlighting the competitive landscape in the industry [3]

Baidu stock price surged in Hong Kong on Wednesday, reaching its highest level since September 2023 as investors cheered its semiconductor investments and as Chinese technology companies soared. It is... ...

Core Insights - Alibaba's aggressive push into AI has reached a pivotal moment with the unveiling of innovative models that challenge Western dominance in generative AI [1] - The company is facing a complex risk-reward scenario due to technological breakthroughs, infrastructure investments, and geopolitical uncertainties [2] Financial Performance - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2026 revenues is $144.18 billion, reflecting a year-over-year growth of 4.38% [3] - Earnings for fiscal 2026 are projected to decline by 10.21% year-over-year to $8.09 per share, indicating market caution regarding Alibaba's growth trajectory [3] Technological Advancements - The Qwen3-Next model, with 80 billion parameters, operates efficiently by activating only 3 billion parameters during inference, achieving performance comparable to larger models at less than 10% of traditional training costs [4] - The Qwen3-ASR-Flash model showcases Alibaba's capabilities in automatic speech recognition across 11 major languages and various Chinese dialects, providing a competitive edge in Asian markets [5] - The preview of Qwen3-Max, exceeding one trillion parameters, positions Alibaba as a serious contender in the large language model space, previously dominated by OpenAI and Google [5] Strategic Investments - Alibaba has committed $52 billion over three years for AI infrastructure development, recognizing the need for model innovation and supply chain resilience amid geopolitical tensions [6] - The company raised $3.2 billion in convertible notes for cloud expansion, indicating confidence in AI-driven growth opportunities [7] Market Position and Valuation - Despite technological advancements, Alibaba's stock performance lags behind AI-focused peers, with a 12.4% appreciation over the past six months compared to Nvidia's 53.3% and Microsoft's 32.3% [8][9] - Alibaba's forward Price/Sales ratio of 2.45X reflects persistent concerns about regulatory oversight and slowing domestic consumption [14] Cloud Division Performance - The cloud division generated approximately $3.5 billion in quarterly revenues during fiscal Q1 2026, showing a modest 6% year-over-year growth, indicating monetization challenges [17] - Management anticipates acceleration in growth as enterprise AI adoption scales, but execution risks remain due to competition from domestic rivals [17] Investment Considerations - Alibaba presents a nuanced investment opportunity with strong AI capabilities and cost efficiency, particularly in sectors like e-commerce and logistics [18] - Geopolitical uncertainties and a premium valuation gap compared to U.S. peers may hinder international expansion and sustained revenue growth [19] - A hold recommendation is suggested for existing shareholders, while new investors may consider waiting for a more attractive entry point or clearer evidence of AI monetization [20]

US equity futures are fractionally lower with small caps lagging as the record-breaking rally in stocks appeared to be running out of steam. At 8:15am ET, S&P 500 futures slid 0.1% after all major US indexes hit all-time highs on Thursday, however Nasdaq 100 futures are still in the green amid an relentless tech bid: Microsoft rose in premarket trading, leading the Mag 7 after it avoided a hefty antitrust penalty from the European Union. Europe’s Stoxx 600 eased as well. Incremental headlines after yesterda ...

Economic Indicators - The U.S. consumer prices rose by +0.4% month-over-month in August, exceeding expectations of +0.3% [1] - Year-over-year headline inflation increased to +2.9% in August from +2.7% in July, aligning with forecasts [1] - Core CPI, excluding food and fuel, rose by +0.3% month-over-month and +3.1% year-over-year in August, meeting expectations [1] - Initial jobless claims unexpectedly rose by +27,000 to 263,000, marking a 3-3/4-year high, compared to the expected 235,000 [1] Stock Market Performance - Wall Street's main equity benchmarks closed higher, with the S&P 500, Dow, and Nasdaq 100 reaching new record highs [2] - Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) surged over +28% following reports of a cash bid from Paramount Skydance [2] - Centene (CNC) rose about +9% after reaffirming its full-year adjusted EPS guidance [2] - Micron Technology (MU) climbed over +7% after Citi raised its price target from $150 to $175 [2] - Netflix (NFLX) fell more than -3% after the announcement of the Chief Product Officer's departure [2] Market Sentiment and Future Expectations - Investors are awaiting the University of Michigan's preliminary reading on U.S. consumer sentiment, with expectations for a figure of 58.2 [5] - U.S. rate futures indicate a 100% probability of a 25 basis point rate cut and a 7.5% chance of a 50 basis point cut at the next monetary policy meeting [4] International Market Developments - The Euro Stoxx 50 Index decreased by -0.24% amid cautious sentiment, while healthcare stocks led declines [6] - The U.K. economy stagnated in July, with GDP unchanged month-over-month and a +1.4% year-over-year increase [7] - Germany's CPI rose by +0.1% month-over-month and +2.2% year-over-year, in line with expectations [7] - France's CPI rose by +0.4% month-over-month and +0.9% year-over-year, also meeting forecasts [8] Corporate News - Baidu surged over +8% and Alibaba climbed more than +5% in Hong Kong after reports of using internally-designed chips for AI models [9] - General Motors (GM) advanced more than +1% in pre-market trading after Barclays upgraded the stock to Overweight with a price target of $73 [12] - RH (RH) plunged over -10% in pre-market trading after reporting downbeat Q2 results and cutting its full-year revenue growth guidance [12]

Fiscal Landscape - The U.S. government's interest payments on its national debt have reached a record $1.21 trillion, surpassing the entire defense budget for the first time since at least 1940 [2][9] - Projections indicate that interest payments could rise to $1.6 trillion by 2034, consuming over 20% of the federal budget, raising concerns about long-term fiscal sustainability [3][9] Global Monetary Policy - The European Central Bank (ECB) has maintained its key deposit rate at 2%, citing stable inflation and a resilient economic outlook, with future decisions being data-dependent [4][9] - Anticipation is building for the Federal Reserve to implement a rate cut in the U.S., following mixed economic data, which has positively impacted gold prices [5][9] Corporate and Energy News - Baidu's Hong Kong shares are expected to open 3.8% higher, reflecting positive market sentiment [13] - The International Energy Agency (IEA) has released a higher oil surplus estimate, leading to a decline in crude prices [14] - Petronas has delivered Malaysia's first blended sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to KL International Airport, marking a step towards sustainability [14] International Trade - A U.S. envoy has expressed optimism about resolving a tariff dispute with India, as negotiations continue to address the trade imbalance [15]

Economic Outlook - JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon indicated that the U.S. economy is experiencing a slowdown, with uncertainty about whether it is heading towards a recession [1] - A preliminary report showed that U.S. employers added 911,000 fewer jobs in the year through March than previously reported, suggesting a weaker labor market [1][1] Market Performance - Wall Street's major indexes closed higher, with UnitedHealth Group surging over +8% after announcing that 78% of its Medicare Advantage members are expected to enroll in top-rated plans next year [2] - Atlassian Corp. climbed more than +5% after announcing plans to transition customers to its cloud platform [2] - Nebius jumped over +49% after securing a deal worth up to $19.4 billion with Microsoft for AI infrastructure [2] Corporate Developments - Oracle's stock surged over +29% in pre-market trading after projecting that booked revenue from its core cloud business would exceed half a trillion dollars [3][14] - Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. reported a 34% increase in August revenue, reflecting strong global demand for advanced AI chips [15] Economic Indicators - The U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI) is anticipated to show a +0.3% month-over-month increase and a +3.3% year-over-year increase, compared to previous figures of +0.9% month-over-month [6] - U.S. Wholesale Inventories data is expected to remain unchanged at +0.2% month-over-month [7] International Developments - China's consumer prices fell at their fastest pace in six months, with the August CPI unchanged month-over-month and down -0.4% year-over-year [11][12] - Fitch Ratings raised its 2025 growth forecast for China to 4.7%, up from 4.2% [11]