Is this what good news feels like?

Stocks in China are ripping higher on news that its drastic COVID-related policies could be starting to ease. It's a long way from a reopening, but after years of hard-edged lockdowns, Chinese tech companies are breathing a sigh of relief — at least in valuation terms. Shares are down in Europe and the United States.How much are Chinese equities rallying? Bilibili is in the lead, up around 16% in pre-market trading. The day's gains won't cover all prior losses, but for the nation's beleaguered tech industry, the valuation gains are beyond welcome news.And sticking to the good news vibe, the fact that the U.S. central bank may slow the pace at which it raises interest rates could provide some useful tailwinds to tech companies.The Circle SPAC deal is off.Giraffe360 raised new capital, which surprised us, given our perspective on the housing market.And we closed with notes on ChatGPT, the thing that everyone on Twitter cannot stop playing with.

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Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.