By Caitlin McCabe

AI enthusiasm is lifting markets again-this time in Asia.

Chinese stocks mounted a fierce rally after e-commerce company Alibaba reported strong results from its AI strategy and pledged more aggressive investment in the space. Shares of Alibaba leaped 15% in Hong Kong, lifting other tech shares. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index notched its biggest daily gain in nearly five months.

Performance of AI stocks has been choppy since the emergence of Chinese AI upstart DeepSeek. Even on Friday, excitement in Asia did little to move the needle on AI stocks in the U.S., which posted muted moves ahead of the opening bell.

In recent trading:

--U.S. stock futures edged up. On Thursday, indexes fell after weaker-than-expected sales guidance from Walmart stoked concerns about consumer strength.

--The 10-year Treasury yield was little changed after settling Thursday just below 4.5%.

--The yen weakened against the dollar after Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda pledged to respond to the recent rise in bond yields.

--Gold futures retreated but held close to recent all-time highs.

--Oil prices declined. Brent-crude futures slipped below $76 a barrel, on pace to break a four-session rising streak.

Up ahead:

--Readings from S&P Global on U.S. manufacturing and services sectors are due at 9:45 a.m. ET.

--Data on existing home sales and consumer sentiment are due at 10 a.m.

This item is part of a Wall Street Journal live coverage event. The full stream can be found by searching P/WSJL (WSJ Live Coverage).

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 21, 2025 06:00 ET (11:00 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.