(Yicai Global) Jan. 9 -- Shares in Tencent Holdings reached a five-week peak today following the release of solid usage statistics for the Chinese internet giant's massively popular lifestyle platform WeChat.

The stock price [HKG:0700] jumped 3.8 percent to close at HKD327.60 (USD41.79), the highest level since Dec. 4, compared with a 2.3 percent gain in the benchmark Hang Seng Index today. Tencent has lost a quarter of its value in the past 12 months amid a wider selloff in Chinese equities.

The pick up in Tencent's shares follows the release of the Shenzhen-based firm's annual WeChat Big Data Report, which found that the number of people using the app to pay monthly for public bus and subway tickets increased 4.7 times last year. The number of users buying products on the app each month grew one-and-a-half times, while those using it to pay for medical expenses nearly tripled.

Total monthly active users reached 1.08 billion with an average of 45 billion messages sent every day, according to the report. Some 410 million audio and video calls were made on the platform and the average user's number of contacts has doubled over the past three years.

The report also highlighted the differences in popularity of emojis among various age groups. China's Generation Z prefers the "covering one's face to cry" emoji while those born between 1990 and 1999 tend to go for a chuckling expression. The post-80s generation tends to go for a grinning emoji while those over 55 are more likely to plump for a simple thumbs up.

In terms of content, Generation Z prefers human interest and emotional stories, while post-80s users enjoy content about politics and national affairs, the report found. Older users tend to go for material related to health and wellbeing.