Alibaba's Stock Rallies On Heavy Volume Toward Record High

Shares of Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd. rallied toward a record high on heavy volume in premarket trade Thursday, as investors cheered the China-based e-commerce giant's better-than-expected results. The stock traded up 4.9% at $167.27 ahead of the open, above Wednesday's record close of $159.50 and all-time intraday high of $158.32. Volume topped 4.5 million shares an hour before the open, enough to make the stock the most actively traded in the premarket. The full-day average volume over the past 30 days is 14.7 million shares, according to FactSet. Alibaba reported earlier fiscal first-quarter earnings and revenue that beat expectations. The stock has rocketed 81.6% year to date through Wednesday, while shares of U.S.-based e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc. have run up 30.5% and the S&P 500 has gained 10.2%.