Alibaba (9988.HK)

Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba will report its quarterly earnings on Tuesday, with investors keen to see how a company that acts as a barometer for the mood of consumers in the world's second-largest economy performed.

Alibaba (9988.HK) shares may have risen 10% so far this year, but the Chinese e-commerce giant’s upcoming quarterly earnings will be closely watched by investors.

Alibaba is seen as a barometer for the mood of consumers in the world's second-largest economy.

For the March quarter this year, analysts, on average, expect the company to earn $1.41 per share on revenue of $30.42bn (£24.28bn). This compares to the last year’s $1.50 per share and $29.15bn.

Alibaba’s Taobao online shopping and Tmall B2C online retail platforms are expected to have seen a strong sequential increase in gross merchandise value.

The platform has lowered costs as Chinese consumers seek discounts and lower-cost shopping but analysts are concerned this risks hitting margins.

Alibaba is also facing increasing competition from low-cost platforms, such as PDD Holding's (PDD) Pinduoduo and ByteDance-owned Douyin, Reuters reported.

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) price struggles to gain momentum as crypto market cap slips

Bitcoin is struggling to gain momentum as the global cryptocurrency market cap decreased by 1.1% to approximately $2.23tn overnight.

The cryptocurrency was trading at around $62,504 on Monday and struggled to make any significant gains after it surged on the back of the approval of US exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

However, two Bitcoin wallets holding a combined 1,000 Bitcoin — currently worth $61m at current prices — suddenly awoken after a 10-year hiatus, with the owners withdrawing almost all the funds available.

Nearly 1.8 million BTC addresses have remained dormant for over a decade, according to a recent analysis by Chainalysis and Fortune.

SoftBank (9984.T) posts quarterly profit on AI hype, steps up hardware investments

SoftBank booked a quarterly profit of 231.1bn yen (£1.2bn) as the Japanese tech conglomerate benefited from a boom in valuations driven by the AI hype.

The Tokyo-based company reported a second straight quarter of profitability in a result which was well ahead of analyst estimates, compared to a loss of 57.6bn yen (£295m) in the first three months of last year.

In February, chief financial officer Yoshimitsu Goto said the company was on a return to a "growth trajectory".

The Vision Fund investment unit booked an investment loss of 96.7 billion yen, missing estimates for a profit of 185.1 billion yen.

In recent months, SoftBank has stepped up investments in AI-related hardware, taking controlling stakes in some cases. The Japanese investment firm is in talks to acquire British semiconductor startup Graphcore, Bloomberg reported.

SoftBank Arm Holdings plans to develop artificial-intelligence (AI) chips, seeking to launch the first products in 2025, Nikkei Asia reported.

Diploma tops FTSE 100 after US deals drive double-digit revenue growth

Distribution group Diploma surged to the top of the FTSE 100 (^FTSE) after takeovers of US companies helped it report double digit revenue growth.

Adjusted pre-tax profit came in at £115.2m in the six months to 31 March, while revenue jumped 10% to £638.3m.

The specialist distribution business lifted annual guidance after a 17% rise in adjusted earnings. It now expects constant currency revenue growth of around 16%, up five percentage points from previous guidance.

The company acquired US-based Peerless Aerospace Fastener for £236m during the period, which it said would extend its strength in aerospace specialty fasteners. It also bought UK-based Plastic and Rubber Group for £38m.

Watch: 'Barron's Roundtable' breaks down the hot market and the future of AI tech

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