Alibaba shares set to slide 8% after it shelves cloud unit spin-off

 The Hong Kong-listed shares of Alibaba Group were set to fall 7.8% on Friday after it scrapped plans to spin off its cloud business, citing uncertainties over U.S. restrictions on chips used in artificial intelligence applications.

The stock was set to open at HK$75.0, the first reaction in Asia since the announcement late on Thursday. The company’s U.S. listed securities closed down 9%.