Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. BABA,
rose 7.3% to a 6-week high in premarket trading on Wednesday, putting them on track for a fifth straight win after co-founder Jack Ma made his first public appearance in nearly three months. The rally in the shares of the Chinese internet giant is about to open at the highest price observed during the regular session hours starting with December 4th. A Jack Ma Foundation spokesman confirmed to The Wall Street Journal that Ma attended the January 20 annual Rural Teacher Initiative event online. Ma has not been seen 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 discourage Ant Group Co., which Ma controls, from going public. Since Ma’s last public appearance on Tuesday, Alibaba shares have fallen 18.8%, while iShares MSCI China ETF MCHI,
increased by 13.0% and the S&P 500 SPX,
advanced 9.6%.