Alibaba shares up on news of rising sales, new CEO

Shares in Alibaba Group Holding (BABA.NASDAQ) jumped 7.5% to close at US$86 after the e-commerce firm named a new chief executive officer, Daniel Zhang, and reported sales having risen to RMB17.4 billion (US$2.8 billion) for the first quarter, Bloomberg reported. Chairman Jack Ma elevated Zhang after the chief operating officer helped turn the November 11 “Singles’ Day” shopping promotion into the company’s biggest sales event. The gains helped pare losses this year to 17% for the stock, which had been falling out of favor in the wake of government criticism and Ma’s announcement of a hiring freeze last month.