08:53 AM EDT, 09/24/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Consumer stocks were advancing premarket Wednesday, with the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLP) 0.1% higher and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLY) up 0.4%.

Alibaba Group ( BABA ) plans to increase its spending on artificial intelligence development as the Chinese e-commerce giant looks to become a "full-stack AI service provider," news outlets reported, citing Chief Executive Eddie Wu. Separately, Alibaba's ( BABA ) cloud unit said it intends to launch its first data centers in Brazil, France, and the Netherlands, with more data centers planned in the coming year. Shares of Alibaba Group ( BABA ) were up more than 8% pre-bell.