China's PDD Holdings beat forecasts on Tuesday with a 14% rise in third-quarter adjusted earnings, a sign that the e-commerce group's steep discounts and heavy marketing spending bolstered demand in its home market.

Adjusted earnings per share of 21.08 yuan ($2.97) topped analysts' average forecast of 16.84 yuan. However, U.S.-listed shares of the company, which runs the Pinduoduo platform in China and Temu internationally, were down about 5% in early trading.

Chinese retail majors such as PDD, Alibaba and JD.com have been wooing domestic shoppers with price cuts and billions of dollars' worth of subsidised promotions during a prolonged period of subdued consumer confidence amid job worries and a weak property market.

Those discounts have translated into higher sales, although below

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