Asia markets trade mixed; ASX hits two-week high as banking fears ease

Shares of Alibaba listed in Hong Kong rose as much as 2.7% in early trade and last traded nearly 1.8% higher after Alibaba executives further clarified the nature of the latest restructuring announcement to split into six units, each with the ability to raise outside funding and go public.

CEO Daniel Zhang told investors on a Thursday morning conference call, “Alibaba will be more of the nature of an asset and capital operator than a business operator, in relation to the business group companies.”

He added that the units announced in the restructuring will have their own CEOs and…