Why Alibaba Stock Topped the Market Today

Amid bad news for one of its rivals, the Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group Holding (GRANDMA 3.07%) I saw a bit of bull running in his stock. The company’s American depositary receipts (ADRs) rose more than 3% in price on Wednesday, easily beating the 0.4% advance at the bell. S&P 500 index.

Sale completed

That rival is JD.com (JD -4.15%)which lost a major American shareholder. In a regulatory filing, Walmart (WMT 0.94%) effectively revealed that it had sold its entire stake in JD.com, ending a nearly decade-long partnership. However, he did not say exactly how many shares he sold or how much he made in the proceeds.

Financial news agency Bloomberg, citing unidentified “people familiar with the matter,” wrote that Walmart’s proceeds from the sale were about $3.6 billion. The sale was of 144.5 million shares of the Chinese company for $24.95 per share. This price is 11% lower than JD.com’s closing price on Tuesday. Not surprisingly, its stock fell by about that amount in the next trading session.

Walmart said in a statement that its move “allows us to focus on our strong China operations for Walmart China and Sam’s Club and deploy capital to other priorities.” He did not become more specific about his plans in the country.

Fierce competition despite large market

Competitors like the mighty Alibaba are likely a major reason for Walmart’s decision to effectively ditch JD.com. The company has struggled against such titans, even though China is a massive consumer market with an economy that continues to grow — albeit at a relatively slow pace.