01:21 PM EDT, 08/29/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Consumer stocks were mixed Friday afternoon, with the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLP) increasing 0.3% and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLY) shedding 1.1%.

In corporate news, Post (POST) shares rose 1.8% after the firm said it has agreed to sell the pasta business of its 8th Avenue Food & Provisions unit to Richardson US. Richardson will pay $375 million in cash and assume about $80 million in leaseback financial liabilities, Post said. Post also said it has approved a $500 million share repurchase program.

Alibaba ( BABA ) reported better-than-expected fiscal Q1 earnings on Friday, although revenue fell short of estimates despite double-digit growth in the Chinese e-commerce giant's cloud business. Separately, Alibaba ( BABA ) has reportedly developed a new AI chip aimed at a broader range of inference tasks as Chinese cloud providers seek alternatives to constrained Nvidia (NVDA) supplies, the Wall Street Journal reported. Alibaba ( BABA ) shares jumped past 13%.

Spirit Aviation ( FLYY ) Chairman Robert Milton met with Frontier Airlines Chairman Bill Franke in Florida earlier this week to discuss Spirit's rebuilding efforts after emerging from bankruptcy and the broader US airline industry, Bloomberg reported. Spirit Aviation ( FLYY ) shares gained 3.2%.