Shares of e-commerce giant Alibaba rose by over 5 percent in premarket trading on Thursday after the company posted second quarter earnings totaling 205.56 billion yuan ($30.42 billion), slightly beating market expectations.

The company said its second quarter revenue remained stable year-on-year primarily because a decline in its Chinese commerce segment revenue of 1 percent was offset by revenue growth for its cloud segment of 10 percent.

Non-GAAP net income was 30.25 million yuan, a decrease of 30 percent year-on-year, the company said in its fiscal report for the quarter ended June 30.

Boosted by the news, shares in JD.com also rose by more than 5 percent while e-commerce platform Pinduoduo rose by 3.73 percent.

Market observers have been worrying that Alibaba could see a year-on-year decline in its revenue for the first time since its listing as the COVID-19 resurgence has affected the Chinese economy. Regulatory tightening in the domestic tech sector has been another concern. 

The data on Thursday meant Alibaba has narrowly escaped such a fate. 

Zhang Yong, chairman and CEO, said in a teleconference with investors on Thursday that consumer sentiment has been improving from June to July, consolidating a recovery process. Supply chains and logistics improved in June and the "618" mid-year shopping festival also achieved relatively good results.

In late July, Alibaba said it would apply for a primary listing in Hong Kong.

Market analysts said Alibaba's sustained performance against the backdrop of regulatory tightening - during which Alibaba was fined 18.23 billion yuan - showed that platform companies can continue to grow despite such policies, which are aimed at regulating rather than stifling platform firms. 

China will promote the well-regulated, healthy and sustainable development of the platform economy, complete the rectification of the sector, and carry out regular supervision, said a top leadership meeting that analyzed the economic situation for the second half of 2022.