Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) stock is trading lower Thursday in line with the broader indexes IShares China Large-Cap ETF (NYSE: FXI) and KraneShares Trust KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF (NYSE: KWEB).

China's manufacturing activity contracted for a fifth straight month in August, triggering pressure on the government to support economic growth amid soft demand at home and abroad.

Meanwhile, new orders exhibited expansion for the first time in five months, and factory owners indicated that producer prices were improving for the first time in seven months despite the vast services sector trending downwards, Reuters reports.

China's major manufacturing rivals in Japan and South Korea also reported sharp declines in output.

The second-largest economy risks missing Beijing's annual growth target of around 5% as officials wrestle with a worsening property slump, weak consumer spending, and tumbling credit growth.

Over the weekend, China announced a halving in stock-trading stamp duties, the first cut since 2008, and approved guidelines for affordable housing on Friday.

The U.S. government, meanwhile, has broadened its crackdown on the exports of cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) chips developed by Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD) to regions beyond China.

Alibaba had already launched its AI strategy by introducing advanced open-source AI models and forming a patent protection alliance for RISC-V and the open-source chip ecosystem.

Price Action: BABA shares traded lower by 1.55% at $92.20 premarket on the last check Thursday.