Wall Street retreated from its record after a sharp slide for Walmart weighed on U.S. stock indexes.

China’s e-commerce firms reported an increase in the number of shoppers and a growth in sales for this year’s Singles’ Day shopping festival, although final figures were not publicly revealed.

The Singles’ Day shopping festival looks less attractive this year amid a sluggish economy, forcing e-commerce firms to look abroad for growth.

Japanese technology giant SoftBank Group has reported a smaller loss for the April-June quarter compared to a year earlier.

Shares are mixed in Asia, where Chinese markets advanced after a government investment fund said it would step up stock purchases.

Asian stocks are mostly lower after Wall Street drifted to a mixed finish as momentum slowed following a strong rally in the first half of November.

Wall Street edged higher in quiet trading, closing out a third straight winning week and keeping November on track to be its best month in a year.

Shoppers in China have been tightening their purse strings, raising questions over how faltering consumer confidence may affect the annual Singles’ Day online retail extravaganza.

Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba says it will spin off its logistics arm, Cainiao Smart Logistics Network, in an initial public offering in Hong Kong.

Chinese consumers have been snapping up billions worth of items in China’s first major online shopping festival after emerging from the pandemic as merchants slash prices, but analysts say that consumer confidence still remains weak as China re-emerges from the pandemic.

Alibaba founder Jack Ma has resurfaced in China after months of overseas travel, visiting a school in the eastern city of Hangzhou where he discussed various topics including artificial intelligence.

A grinding crackdown that wiped billions of dollars of value off Chinese technology companies is easing, but the once-freewheeling industry is bracing for much slower growth ahead.

Leading Chinese financial technology provider Ant Group has announced that its founder, e-commerce billionaire Jack Ma, will give up control of the company.

Chinese regulators have said e-commerce giant Alibaba’s finance affiliate Ant Group can raise $1.5 billion for its consumer finance unit in an important step forward after the government called off a planned IPO two years ago and ordered the firm to restructure.

Govs.

Japanese technology investor SoftBank Group has reported a 3 trillion yen, or $21 billion, profit for the July-September quarter, a sharp reversal from its loss a year ago.

Alibaba, China’s biggest e-commerce company, plans to apply for a primary listing in Hong Kong.

Shares of Chinese technology firms Alibaba and Tencent have tumbled after Chinese regulators fined their subsidiaries for failing to disclose transactions and not complying with anti-monopoly rules.

Alibaba this week revealed an ambitious vision to quintuple its Southeast Asian e-commerce business to $100 billion in transacted sales, as well as a pledge to reach carbon neutrality in its operations by 2030.

Shares are mixed in Asia after troubled Chinese property developer Evergrande warned late Friday it may run out of money.

Chinese shoppers spent $139.1 billion during this year’s annual Singles’ Day shopping extravaganza, breaking last year’s record even though consumer spending slowed amid economic uncertainty during the coronavirus pandemic.

China’s biggest online shopping day, known as “Singles’ Day” on Nov_ 11, is taking on a muted tone this year as regulators crack down on the technology industry and President Xi Jinping pushes for “common prosperity.”.

China's internet regulator plans to require companies to obtain government approval to transfer data deemed important abroad.

China is tightening control over data gathered by companies about the public under a law approved by its ceremonial legislature.

China’s internet watchdog says it has fined technology platforms operated by e-commerce company Alibaba and gaming firm Tencent for spreading sexually suggestive content involving children, as regulators seek to clean up content harmful to minors.

China’s internet watchdog said Friday that it has launched an investigation into ride-hailing company Didi Global Inc. to protect national security and public interest, days after the company went public in New York.

Shares in Meituan, China's largest food delivery platform, have tumbled after its CEO posted _and then deleted _ an ancient poem in a move widely seen as criticism of the Chinese government.

China’s market regulator says it has launched a probe into suspected monopolistic behavior by food delivery firm Meituan.

Asian shares are mostly higher with hopes growing for a global economic rebound even as coronavirus cases surge in many places.

Shares were higher across Asia on Friday after a strong gains on Wall Street driven by hopes for a powerful recovery from the pandemic. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)BANGKOK – Shares were higher across Asia on Friday after a strong gains on Wall Street driven by hopes for a powerful recovery from the pandemic. Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul and Shanghai all gained and U.S. futures also were higher. Investors have been moving money away from expensive tech stocks as part of a broader shift to stocks tied more closely to economic growth. The Russell 2000 index of smaller stocks outdid the rest of the market, climbing 2.3% to 2,183.12.

(Courtney Crow/New York Stock Exchange via AP)The biggest IPO in years is rolling out Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange where Coupang, the South Korean equivalent of Amazon in the U.S., or Alibaba in China, will begin trading under the ticker “CPNG." Coupang has raised about $4.6 billion, outsizing last month's $2 billion capital raise by the dating app Bumble. Coupang priced 130 million shares at $35 each, valuing the company at about $60 billion, according to regulatory filings. The company also bumped up the number of shares it is offering because of strong demand by 10 million, for a total of 130 million shares. Coupang says it’s already the third-largest employer in Korea, adding almost 25,000 new jobs last year.

Shares fell in Asia on Wednesday as investors weighed the possibility that inflation might prompt central banks to adjust their ultra-low interest rate policies. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)TOKYO – Shares fell Wednesday in Asia as investors weighed the possibility that inflation might prompt central banks to adjust their ultra-low interest rate policies. Investors remain increasingly focused on a big tick up in bond yields and how it affects stock valuations. However, “Despite reassuring comments on lower rates from the U.S. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, Asia markets continued to look to concerns with regards to the rising bond yields," Pan said. The bet mostly paid off, as big tech companies reported big profits last year.

FILE - In this Dec. 30, 2020, file photo, an employee tolls the closing bell during a ceremony of the last trading day at the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo. Major Asian bourses were closed for the New Year's holidays Thursday, Dec. 31, while the handful that remained open was mixed. (JPX via AP)Major Asian bourses were closed for the New Year's holidays Thursday while the handful that remained open was mixed. Trading was closed in Tokyo and South Korea. The Tokyo exchange marked the end of trading for the year Wednesday, with the Nikkei falling 0.5%, and trading will not reopen until Monday next week.

Stocks fell back across Asia on Thursday after gains for big technology shares pushed most Wall Street benchmarks higher. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index gained 0.4% to 25,459.13 despite a report that machinery orders fell in September, suggesting weakness in corporate investment. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.1% to 26,206.78 and the Shanghai Composite index declined 0.3% to 3,332.24. Markets have been riding a wave of relief over hopes for a potential vaccine to beat back the pandemic. Strategists along Wall Street are raising their forecasts for stock prices on expectations that political control of Washington will remain split between the parties.

BEIJING – Shares were mostly higher Wednesday in Asia after a worldwide rally spurred by hopes that a COVID-19 vaccine will help the global economy return to normal. Japan's Nikkei 225 index gained 1.2% to 25,197.68 and the S&P/ASX 200 advanced 1.3% to 6,419.50. The S&P 500 dipped 0.1% to 3,545.53, after erasing most of an early loss. The Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks gained 1.9% to 1,737.01, finally returning to where it was in January. Many risks remain, and the biggest may be whether investors have become too convinced about a potential COVID-19 vaccine.

The shopping festival, which is the world’s largest and typically begins in November, is an annual extravaganza where China’s e-commerce companies, including Alibaba, JD.com and Pinduoduo, offer generous discounts on their platforms. Rival JD.com also reported cumulative sales of 200 billion yuan ($30.2 billion) since Nov. 1, nine minutes after the clock struck midnight on Wednesday. The shopping festival got its name as the main shopping day falls on Nov. 11 every year. To help merchants cope with the impact from the coronavirus, online platforms have extended the shopping festival period this year in hopes of boosting sales. “Some of these products are really cheap during the Singles’ Day discounts.”Unlike Black Friday and Cyber Monday in the U.S., Singles’ Day in China is not just about deep bargains.

In this Friday, Oct. 23, 2020 photo, the figure of Ant Group's mascot is displayed at the Ant Group office in Hong Kong. Ma also founded Alibaba Group, the world's biggest e-commerce company by sales volume, which spun off its Alipay payments service to create the company that became Ant Group. “Views regarding the health and stability of the financial sector were exchanged,” Ant Group said in a prepared statement. In a joint statement, the Chinese central bank, securities regulator and other agencies said Monday they had “regulatory interviews” with Ma, Ant Group chairman Eric Jing and president Hu Xiaoming. It was renamed Ant Group ahead of its stock market debut.

HONG KONG – The world’s largest fintech company, China's Ant Group, will try to raise nearly $35 billion in a massive public offering of stock that would shatter records. Its Shanghai stock was priced at 68.8 yuan ($10.26) each, while its Hong Kong stock is priced at 80 Hong Kong dollars apiece ($10.32), according to filings on Monday. Ant Group will list on the Hong Kong stock exchange on Nov. 5, according to an exchange filing. It was later renamed Ant Financial, before its recent name change to Ant Group. Alibaba, which currently owns a third of Ant Group, will subscribe to 730 million shares and will hold a stake of about 32% after the IPO.

Japanese technology company SoftBank Group Corp. racked up a loss of 961.6 billion yen ($9 billion) for the fiscal year through March, on red ink related to its Vision Fund investments, including troubled office space-sharing venture WeWork. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)TOKYO Japanese technology company SoftBank Group Corp. racked up a loss of 961.6 billion yen ($9 billion) for the fiscal year through March, on red ink related to its Vision Fund investments including troubled office space-sharing venture WeWork. Tokyo-based SoftBank had reported a profit of 1.4 trillion yen the previous fiscal year. SoftBank announced three new board members, including SoftBank Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto and Waseda University professor Yuko Kawamoto. Also Monday, SoftBank said it was buying back its own shares, of up to 500 billion yen ($4.7 billion) in value, to shore up its bottom line.

TOKYO Chinese billionaire Jack Ma is stepping down from the board of SoftBank Group Corp., as the Japanese technology company struggles over its risky investments such as office-sharing venture WeWork. Tokyo-based SoftBank announced Ma's resignation Monday, ahead of releasing financial results. SoftBank announced three new board members, including SoftBank Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto and Waseda University professor Yuko Kawamoto. He is also chief executive of Cadence Design, a U.S. electronic design automation software and engineering services company. Ma, who joined the SoftBank board in 2007, has a close relationship with SoftBank founder and Chief Executive Masayoshi Son.

HANGZHOU, China - Alibaba's online retail blitz known as Singles Day has pulled in $24 billion so far, China's biggest e-commerce company said on Monday. Singles Day is an informal, anti-Valentine's Day holiday in China celebrating people who aren't in relationships. Alibaba started offering Singles Day discounts in 2009 and has since turned the day into a 24-hour bonanza of online shopping in China. Brands like Nike and Brooks Brothers are offering Singles Day discounts on their websites in the United States. But the Singles Day event in China is by far the splashiest.

Alibaba-affiliated Ant Financial launched a new international version of its mobile payments app Alipay on Tuesday, marking the first time tourists and business travelers can use mobile payments in mainland China. The service could remove one of the biggest headaches for visitors to China, where everyone from taxi drivers to luxury malls have come to rely on mobile payments. Alipay users can now download and buy prepaid cards within the app using international debit and credit cards. Mobile payments in China hit $42 trillion in 2018, up more than 28 times from five years ago, the People's Bank of China said in a report earlier this year. Ant Financial said Tuesday that the new international service will allow it to tap into the growing number of visitors to China.

BEIJING - China's data centers produced 99 million metric tons of carbon dioxide last year, the equivalent of about 21 million cars on the road, according to a new report. China's data center industry is dominated by domestic players like Alibaba and Tencent, though Apple is currently building a data center in the country's southern Guizhou Province. "To prevent this, China's data centers need to decouple their electricity consumption from their carbon footprint by relying more on wind and solar energy," said Ye. Currently, China's data centers rely on an energy mix of 73% coal, 23% renewable energy and 4% nuclear. Amazon Web Services -- the company's data centers arm -- says it has exceeded 50% renewable energy usage for 2018.

HANGZHOU, China - Jack Ma, the billionaire who ushered e-commerce into China, is officially stepping down as Alibaba's executive chairman on Tuesday. After two decades building Alibaba into a $460 billion business, Ma is now pivoting full time to philanthropy. "Jack has been signaling for some time his interests in philanthropy, environment, women's empowerment, education and development," said Duncan Clark, the author of "Alibaba: The House That Jack Ma Built." The eager teacher"Before I'm 70 years old, I can do something in other fields, in areas like education," Ma said at an Alibaba event last September. A Communist Party member, Ma is China's most famous entrepreneur and with a fortune of nearly $40 billion the country's richest man.

HONG KONG - Alibaba has delayed plans to list its stock in Hong Kong, according to Reuters. The Chinese tech company already trades publicly in New York, but was reported to have been considering a second listing that Reuters said could raise as much as $15 billion. The news organization cited two anonymous sources who attributed the decision to postpone the listing to "the lack of financial and political stability" in Hong Kong. Alibaba decided to list in the United States five years ago after negotiations with Hong Kong broke down. Hong Kong is still the best place for Alibaba to list, said Kenny Tang, chief executive of investment firm Royston Securities.

Copyright 2019 CNNBEIJING - Asian markets were mostly higher on Friday after China announced plans that could help boost consumer spending. Hong Kong has also recently taken measures to help avert a recession. On Thursday, the city's government unveiled a stimulus package worth about $19 billion Hong Kong dollars ($2.4 billion). Some companies that trade in Hong Kong and Shanghai also posted strong earnings. Ping An Insurance, China's largest insurer, climbed 3% in Hong Kong after it posted a 68% surge in its first-half net profit.

Online retail giant Alibaba reported a more than 40% jump in sales in its latest quarter, results that were better than analysts expected. The good news from Alibaba comes on the same day that American retail giant Walmart, which owns a stake in Alibaba rival JD.com, also reported impressive results. JD posted solid sales growth earlier this week as well. Alibaba reported a healthy jump in mobile active users in the quarter and solid gains in sales at both its Tmall and Taobao platforms. "We are pleased to see sustained user engagement and consumer spending," said Alibaba chief financial officer Maggie Wu in a statement.

"This [surge] is crazy," said Ronald Wan, chief executive of Partners Capital International in Hong Kong. Shanghai's Star Market might be different. It's a change aimed squarely at attracting Chinese tech companies currently trading overseas. Like Alibaba and Tencent, other big Chinese tech companies such as Baidu, JD.com, Xiaomi and Pinduoduo have chosen New York or Hong Kong to go public. Alibaba is reportedly considering a second listing in Hong Kong, following its record $25 billion flotation in New York in 2014.

iStock/liveslowHANGZHOU, China - China's national women's soccer team just got a big boost from online payments app Alipay. It is the biggest investment in women's soccer in China ever, according to Alipay. Alipay wants to bring "technology, funds and resources to better support the development of women's soccer in China," a spokesman for the company said on Monday. Gianni Infantino, president of global soccer's governing body FIFA, said the organization will double it for the next women's World Cup in 2023. The company wants to be the "strongest advocate" for China women's soccer, CEO Eric Jing said in a statement Friday.