Shares of Chinese internet companies listed in the United States include Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Nio Inc. rallied during Friday’s pre-market as hopeful sentiment continued to build on the possibility that the country is planning to ease its strict COVID-19 policies.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Zeng Guang, who was previously the chief scientist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said at a conference that it was expected “Significant” changes following the company’s COVID-free approach, according to multiple unnamed sources.
In addition, The Wall Street Journal noted that US inspectors from the Public Accounting Oversight Board have been set up to complete an on-site review of the audit records of Chinese companies in Hong Kong. That development can assuage fears about the prospect of delisting for Chinese companies whose shares trade on US exchanges.
The performance follows a protest in Hong Kong, where Hang Seng
HSI,
5% increase.
See more: China tech sector leads Hong Kong market to recover
Among the stocks that rallied ahead of the market on Friday were U.S.-listed shares of Bilibili Inc.
BILI,
up nearly 14%, Nio
NIO,
increased nearly 11%, as did iQiyi Inc.
INTELLIGENCE QUOTIENT,
and Alibaba
TORTOISE,
nearly 10% increase each time.
The United States-listed shares of JD.com Inc.
JD,
up about 9% while shares of Tencent Music Entertainment Group
TME,
rose about 7%, and shares of Huya Inc.
HUYA,
leading by about 6%.
KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF
KWEB,
rallied nearly 8% in Friday’s pre-market action. It has risen in the previous four trading sessions this week, though it is still down 20% over the past month and 42% so far this year.
