BABA Breaks Out as AI Assistant Makes Waves in China

272
Alibaba’s share price has been on a tear in 2025, surging more than 70% in the first eight weeks of the year before settling into a period of consolidation. That consolidation phase has now given way to a fresh breakout, as the stock pushed through resistance in an ascending triangle pattern.

Let’s take a look at the technical and fundamental catalysts that have aligned to make Alibaba a stock to watch this year.


The AI Catalyst

Alibaba’s latest breakout isn’t happening in a vacuum. The company’s AI assistant, Quark, has been making waves in China, drawing positive reviews and raising hopes that it could become a dominant player in the AI agent space. Powered by Alibaba’s Qwen reasoning AI model, Quark has been repositioned as an all-in-one AI assistant, incorporating online search, cloud storage, and generative AI capabilities.

The timing of this development is critical. AI is one of the biggest battlegrounds in tech, and Alibaba is making its presence felt with an open-source approach designed to spur innovation. Broker Jefferies has highlighted Alibaba’s view of AI as a vast, addressable market, and the company’s recent commitment to investing 380 billion yuan ($52 billion) in cloud computing and AI infrastructure underscores the scale of its ambitions. If Quark gains real traction, it could be a meaningful growth driver.

Bull Flag Breakout

From a price action perspective, Alibaba’s recent move is a textbook bullish breakout. After its rapid rally to start the year, the stock pulled into a consolidation phase, forming a series of higher swing lows against a horizontal resistance level. This created an ascending triangle – a classic continuation pattern that signals a potential breakout when resistance is finally breached.

Monday's price action delivered that confirmation, with Alibaba breaking and closing above the bull flag formation. This move suggests the uptrend is back in full swing, and breakout traders will be watching two key levels to ensure the bullish momentum remains intact.

The first is the former resistance level, which should now become support. A successful retest would reinforce the breakout. The second is the volume-weighted average price (VWAP) anchored to the bottom of the flag – as long as price stays above this level, the bullish structure remains in place.

Alibaba (BABA) Daily Candle Chart
snapshot
Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results

Disclaimer: This is for information and learning purposes only. The information provided does not constitute investment advice nor take into account the individual financial circumstances or objectives of any investor. Any information that may be provided relating to past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results or performance. Social media channels are not relevant for UK residents.

Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 83% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.



Disclaimer

The information and publications are not meant to be, and do not constitute, financial, investment, trading, or other types of advice or recommendations supplied or endorsed by TradingView. Read more in the Terms of Use.