Alibaba, JD.com Sales On Major Chinese Shopping Holiday Top $136B Despite Coronavirus Impact

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. BABA and JD.com Inc. JD made record sales at the "618" shopping festival in China on Thursday, CNBC reported.

What Happened

JD.com reported a total transaction volume of $37.99 billion in the 24-hours of the festival, according to CNBC. This is a 33.6% increase over the approximately $28.5 billion total transaction volume reported last year.

Alibaba reported a gross merchandise value, as it refers to the total sales across its e-commerce platforms, of $98.52 billion.

618, celebrated on June 18, is one of the two major yearly shopping events promoted by the e-commerce companies, the other being Singles Day celebrated on November 11.

Why It Matters

The rise in 618 sales numbers for the two Chinese e-commerce behemoths suggests that consumer demand remains strong in the country despite the economic impact of the extended lockdowns implemented to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Alibaba and JD.com had also posted record sales of $67.6 billion together during the latest Singles Day festival in November last year.

Price Action

Alibaba shares closed 0.3% higher at $223.54 in New York on Thursday and traded 0.3% higher in the after-hours session.

JD.com shares closed nearly 2% lower at $60.79 in New York the same day and added 0.3% in the after-hours.