Alibaba leads sharp drop in Chinese internet stocks as it heads for worst month since November

U.S.-listed shares of Chinese internet stocks including Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd. were sinking Friday to cap off an eventful week that saw Chinese leaders reportedly acknowledge that the country could come up shy of its growth goals. The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that the Chinese Politburo put out a statement asking stronger provinces to work to meet expansion targets, which was seen as a sign that country leaders may not currently expect other areas to hit their marks. Alibaba’s U.S.-listed shares were off 8.5% in Friday’s session and down 18.9% over the course of July. That would put the shares on track for their biggest monthly drop since November 2021, when they lost 22.7%, and the lowest monthly close since December 2016. The shares have also fallen 23.8% amid a three-week losing streak. Earlier this week, The Wall Street Journal reported that Alibaba cofounder Jack Ma was preparing to give up control of Ant Group Co., the financial-technology company that’s affiliated with Alibaba. Other U.S.-listed Chinese shares were falling as well Friday, including video platform iQiyi Inc. , down 7.5%.; video company Bilibili Inc. , down 4.6%, and e-commerce giant JD.com Inc. , down 4.3%.

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