Hong Kong stocks set for best week in July as China pledges to end housing crisis, Alibaba and Tencent lead tech winners

News Snapshot:

Hong Kong stocks advanced, taking the benchmark index to its best weekly gain this month after China’s banking regulator pledged to take measures to defuse a property and banking crisis caused by a credit squeeze. The Hang Seng Index gained 0.2 per cent to 20,621.71 as of 11.32am local time, bringing the gain to 1.6 per cent for the week. The Hang Seng Tech Index rallied 0.4 per cent on hopes for an end to a sector crackdown, while the Shanghai Composite Index slid 0.3 per cent. China Merchants Bank added 1.5 per cent to HK$42.85 and Industrial and Commercial...