Alibaba shares soared 7% on Thursday after the Chinese internet trading company announced it was replacing its chief executive as part of a purge of older managers.
The company, which has lost more than $20bn (£13bn) of market value since its $231bn flotation on the New York stock exchange in September, said current CEO Jonathan Lu would be replaced by chief operating officer Daniel Zhang on Sunday.
Investors welcomed the management shake-up, and a better-than-expected 45% increase in quarterly sales, sending Alibaba shares up nearly 8% to $86 by 11am.