SoftBank Corp. dropped following a slump in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. ( BABA ) in New York after the Chinese e-commerce giant reported worse-than-expected earnings on Thursday. Softbank owns a 32% stake in Alibaba. In economic news, Japan's consumer price index ( CPI ) rose 2.5% in December from the year-ago period, compared with Reuters' forecast for a rise of 2.6% and down from 2.7% in November.