Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE:BABA) stock climbed nearly 4% in Wednesday’s premarket session after China approved Apple Intelligence for use on domestic iPhones, marking a key regulatory milestone for Apple’s AI rollout in the country.
The broader market also offered modest support, with Nasdaq futures up 0.31% and S&P 500 futures gaining 0.09%.
Apple Intelligence Approval Boosts Sentiment
According to Reuters, Chinese regulators approved Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) Apple Intelligence, clearing an important regulatory hurdle for launching the AI service on iPhones in China.
Reuters reported that Alibaba’s Qwen AI model will power Apple Intelligence across iPhone, iPad, Mac and Vision Pro devices in China. Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) also confirmed it is working with Apple to support localized AI features for Chinese users.
China requires all generative AI services and large language models to be registered before they can be released publicly. Regulators have not announced a launch date, Reuters said. The approval follows Apple’s reported 24.4% year-over-year increase in China iPhone shipments during the second quarter.
The latest development adds to improving sentiment around Alibaba. Investors have also welcomed narrowing losses in the company’s instant-commerce business and continued growth in its AI-focused cloud operations.
Alibaba Technical Outlook
Alibaba remains in a longer-term downtrend despite the recent rebound. The stock is trading about 19.6% below its 200-day simple moving average and 7.8% below its 100-day average. However, it remains 12.5% above its 20-day average, suggesting near-term buying momentum has strengthened.
The MACD indicator remains above its signal line, pointing to improving momentum as selling pressure eases. Even so, the broader trend remains under pressure because the 20-day moving average is still below the 50-day average, while the 50-day average remains below the 200-day average, confirming the bearish “death cross” formed in April.
Technical traders are watching resistance around $134, while $116 remains an important support level.
Alibaba Price Action
BABA Stock Price Activity: Alibaba shares were up 3.66% at $116.43 during premarket trading on Wednesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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