By Summer Zhen

HONG KONG, Nov 21 (Reuters) - U.S. hedge funds raised their investments in U.S.-listed Chinese firms in the third quarter, with e-commerce retailer JD.com and data centre operator GDS Holdings leading the purchases, a Goldman Sachs note reviewed by Reuters showed.

U.S. hedge funds' exposure to Chinese stocks traded in the world's largest capital market, rose to the highest level since late 2021, according to the note to clients on Wednesday.

About 25% of U.S. long-short equity funds held a long position in at least one so-called China ADRs (American Depository Receipts) at the beginning of the fourth quarter, the investment bank said.

E-commerce giant JD.com was the most popular, attracting 47 hedge funds and seeing a net increase of 26 funds boosting their ownership in the third quarter.

Following JD.com were data centre operator GDS and hotel chain Atour Lifestyle Holdings , reflecting investors' optimism for a recovery in consumption and growth in artificial intelligence demand.

The return to Chinese stocks by Wall Street's fast money came amid a sudden stock rally in late September when China announced a series of economic stimulus pledges. However, this sentiment quickly faded as shares corrected recently due to the fiscal spending plan falling short of expectations and potential U.S. tariff risks in the wake of Donald Trump's election win.

Separate 13-F regulatory filings showed billionaire David Tepper's Appaloosa Management increased its investment in JD.com by 69% while more than doubling its stake in e-commerce platform PDD Holdings in the three months through September.

Scion Asset Management's Michael Burry, known for his timely bets against the housing sector ahead of the 2008 financial crisis, doubled his long positions in JD.com in the third quarter. However, he also increased bearish positions on the same stock to limit potential losses.

(Reporting by Summer Zhen; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

((summer.zhen@thomsonreuters.com; 852-3462-7739;))