Alibaba pares gains as Chinese state media denies report PBOC accepted Ant application

Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) gave back most of its gains on Friday after Chinese state media denied an earlier report that the People's Bank of China had accepted Ant Group's application to set itself up as a financial holding company.
Alibaba (BABA) shares were up 2% shortly before 11 a.m. EST, but had been up as much as 10% after a Reuters report that said the PBOC accepted Ant's application this month.
Last Thursday, several media outlets reported that Chinese finance regulators were mulling reviving an IPO of Jack Ma's Ant Group as the country's crackdown on internet companies begins to ease.
Reuters reported at the time China's central leadership has given initial nod for Ant to restart its IPO plan in Shanghai and Hong Kong. Ant is said to plan to file preliminary IPO prospectus as soon as next month.
China's regulator denied the report and said it's not working on reviving an IPO of Ant Group.