Baidu to make AI chatbot Ernie Bot free of charge from April 1

Chinese tech stocks fell after reaching multi-year highs as AI-driven gains slowed. Traders locked in profits amid economic concerns, with Alibaba and Baidu retreating from their intraday peaks.

Chinese tech stocks reversed their gains on Thursday after hitting multi-year highs, as the momentum from AI-driven investments slowed. Traders capitalized on profits, while renewed concerns about China’s economic challenges weighed on sentiment.

Shares of major internet firms gave up some of their early gains. Alibaba ended the day 2.6% higher after briefly reaching a three-year high. This followed an announcement from Chairman Joe Tsai that the e-commerce giant would collaborate with Apple to integrate AI into iPhones sold in China.

Baidu finished 5.7% higher but had surged as much as 12% earlier in the session. The boost came after the company revealed plans to make its AI chatbot, Ernie Bot, freely available starting April 1.

Mainland Chinese markets also weakened, with the CSI300 Index and the Shanghai Composite Index both slipping by approximately 0.4%, pulling back from their highest levels of the year.

According to analysts at Morgan Stanley, technological advancements alone cannot address China's structural economic imbalances or cyclical deflationary pressures. They noted that during the current policy lull leading up to the National People’s Congress in March, concerns about economic slowdown could limit broad market gains.

Despite the day's losses, Hong Kong’s stock market remains the best performer among major regional markets this year, gaining 8.8%. This growth has been largely driven by a rally in the tech sector, sparked by DeepSeek's advancements and China’s market stabilization efforts last month.

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