Alibaba Under Pressure as Anthropic Claims Add Fuel to Tech Selloff

Key Takeaways

• Chinese tech sentiment weakens as Alibaba falls below $100 on AI-related allegations.
• Anthropic claims involving large-scale Claude access add regulatory and competitive pressure.
• US-China technology tensions continue to weigh on AI-linked equities and sentiment.
• Traders are monitoring $100.63 resistance and $99.08 support for near-term direction.
• Price action remains sensitive to headlines, with risk of extended volatility on further news flow. 

Alibaba came under renewed selling pressure after reports that Anthropic accused operators linked to Alibaba’s Qwen AI lab of using proxy accounts to access its Claude model at scale.

The stock dropped more than 3%, falling from an intraday high above $101 to around $99.81, pushing it below the psychological $100 level. The move reflects growing sensitivity in Chinese tech equities to AI-related scrutiny and broader geopolitical risk.

According to the allegations, large-scale coordinated activity involving thousands of proxy accounts generated millions of interactions with Claude over a two-month period. The activity reportedly focused on advanced capabilities such as coding and reasoning tasks, raising concerns around model access and potential distillation practices.

The development adds another layer of pressure to Chinese technology names already trading under heightened regulatory uncertainty between the US and China.

What Traders Are Watching?

Sentiment around Alibaba is now driven less by fundamentals and more by regulatory and AI-related headlines. The latest allegations have increased concerns around AI model access, intellectual property protection, and potential policy escalation in the US. Any regulatory response or further escalation could amplify volatility in Chinese tech equities.

At the same time, broader market risk appetite remains fragile, with investors closely watching US-China relations and AI competition dynamics. For traders, the key focus is whether buyers defend the $99 region or whether continued negative headlines push the stock into a deeper corrective phase.

Technical Analysis & Key Levels

Alibaba remains under pressure after breaking below the $100 level, with price trading below its short-term moving averages and maintaining a weak short-term structure.

Resistance is seen at $100.63, followed by $101.61 and $103.19. A recovery above these levels would be required to stabilise sentiment and shift momentum back toward buyers. Support sits at $99.08, followed by the psychological $99.00 level. A break below $99.08 could trigger additional downside pressure and extend the current bearish phase.

Trading Outlook

Short-term price action is expected to remain headline-driven, with volatility closely tied to developments in AI regulation and US-China tech relations. A rebound above $100.63 would suggest early stabilisation, while failure to reclaim resistance keeps downside risk in play. Continued negative headlines could sustain selling pressure and delay any meaningful recovery attempt.

Traders are likely to stay cautious, with positioning influenced by both regulatory signals and broader sentiment across global tech markets.

For a deeper view of how AI competition, regulatory risk, and shifting sentiment are shaping Chinese tech stocks and near-term market direction, read the full article.