Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. BABA,
sank 7.2% in pre-market trading on Thursday after Chinese regulators launched an anti-monopoly investigation into the e-commerce giant, as the Associated Press reported. This settlement put Alibaba’s shares on track to open at the lowest level seen during regular session hours since 7 July. It also means that stocks are set to open in bear market territory, which many on Wall Street say is marked by a 20% drop or more from a significant rise. Since closing at a record high of $ 317.14 on October 27, the stock closed down 19.6% to $ 255.11 on December 15, before reducing some losses to close Wednesday at $ 256, 18. A close of $ 253.71 or less would make the bear market “official”. In comparison, iShares MSCI China ETF MCHI,
gained 0.9% from October 27 to Wednesday, while the S&P 500 SPX,
gained 8.8%.
