Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. BABA,
skyrocketed 7.3% towards a more than 6-week high in Wednesday’s pre-market, putting them on the way to a fifth consecutive gain after co-founder Jack Ma made his first public appearance in almost three months. The rise in shares of the China-based internet giant puts them on track to open at the highest price seen during regular sessions since December 4. A Jack Ma Foundation spokesman confirmed to The Wall Street Journal that Ma attended the online event at the annual Rural Teacher Initiative event on January 20. Ma has not appeared in public since October 24, when Ma spoke at a financial forum and criticized regulators for stifling financial and technological innovation, as reported by the WSJ. This led regulators to prevent going public on the Ant Group Co., controlled by Ma. Since Ma’s last public appearance until Tuesday, Alibaba’s shares have fallen 18.8%, while iShares MSCI China ETF MCHI,
rose 13.0% and the S&P 500 SPX,
advanced 9.6%.
