Alibaba jumps 7% after report says Americans will not be banned from investing in the company

• Alibaba surged as much as 7% in Wednesday trades after The Wall Street Journal reported that Americans would not be banned from investing in the Chinese e-commerce giant.
• Alibaba, Baidu, and Tencent were among a number of Chinese-based companies that were being examined for inclusion in a Defense Department list of firms that supported China's military, intelligence, and security services, according to the report.
• Chinese telecom stocks like China Mobile had been added to the Defense Department list, and trading in the US-listed stock shuttered on Monday.
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Americans will not be banned from investing in Alibaba, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.

The Chinese-based e-commerce giant was under examination by State Department officials to be added to a Defense Department list of companies that supported China's military, intelligence, and security services. Americans can not invest in any companies that are added to the list.

Shares of Alibaba surged as much as 7% in Wednesday trades following the report. Tencent and Baidu also saw their stocks rise as it was revealed they also would not be added to the list.

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Chinese telecom companies like China Mobile and China Telecom were recently added to the list. The US-listed stocks of both companies were delisted by the New York Stock Exchange on Monday.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has been against banning American investors from being able to invest in the three technology giants, citing the potential for widespread stock market selloffs and a negative economic impact, according to the report.

State Department officials had been seeking to take a tougher stance against Beijing and thought they had a compelling argument for banning the firms up until Wednesday, the report said.

Alibaba has seen a series of volatile trades in recent weeks, with the company being subject to increased regulatory pressure from Chinese officials. Alibaba founder Jack Ma has been keeping out of the public view ever since China abruptly halted the highly anticipated IPO of Ma's Ant Group.

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