09:12 AM EDT, 03/16/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Consumer stocks were edging higher pre-bell Monday, with the State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) advancing by 0.4% and the State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) up 0.9%.

JD.com ( JD ) stock was up 1% after the company said it has launched Joybuy, a retail e-commerce platform in Europe.

Alibaba Group ( BABA ) is creating a new division to house its artificial intelligence services and development efforts in an attempt to make AI more profitable, Bloomberg reported, citing a company memo it viewed. Shares of Alibaba Group ( BABA ) were up more than 3% premarket.

Dollar Tree ( DLTR ) stock was down 0.4% even after the company posted higher fiscal Q4 adjusted earnings and revenue.