10:00AM London is higher Thursday afternoon with mining leading the rally.

The benchmark FTSE 100 Index increased 1.19%, to 6645 in early afternoon in London.

BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Group led shares of mining companies higher. BHP Billiton Ltd was 3.5% higher and Rio Tinto also advanced 3.5% as copper prices advanced for a second day in Shanghai on worries lower output from Chile, will further cut global supply as stockpiles decline.

Vodafone climbed 0.9%. The company announced it added 9.1 million subscribers in the three months through June, having now 232 million subscribers.

Some stocks advanced on broker comment. LogicaCMG gained 4.25 after UBS AG hiked its recommendation on the Anglo-Dutch computer-services provider to buy from neutral. Segro, the owner of five of the largest business parks in the U.K., climbed 2.3% as UBS also raised its recommendation on the shares to buy from neutral.

National Grid also benefited from broker comment as it advanced 1.5% after Dresdner Kleinwort hiked its recommendation on the owner of the U.K. natural-gas and electricity transmission networks to add from hold.

Other companies also rallied. Colt Telecom Group, phone-service provider, surged 3% as it posted a second-quarter profit of 8.9 million euros, or $12.3 million, compared with a loss in the year-earlier period.

Dairy Crest Group, U.K. dairy producer, gained 4.1% as it said it had a strong performance in the first three months of the fiscal year, led by sales of products such as Cathedral City cheese and Utterly Butterly spread.

Drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline increased 1% as the company said advisers to the European Union recommended approval of a Glaxo’s vaccine that prevents cervical cancer.

9:00AM Asian stocks close higher with Japan up on financial stocks and South Korea boosted by LG Electronics.

Asian markets finished higher. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 Average closed 0.6% higher at 18,116.57. Consumer finance companies advanced on a report that two major firms would merge this year. Promise advanced 5.9% and Sanyo Shinpan jumped 12%. Steelmakers and shipping lines also gained on talks that global economic expansion will power demand for their goods and services. JFE gained 4.4% and Nippon Steel Corp climbed 4.7%.

In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index advanced 0.8% to settle at 23,016.20. Robust first-half economic data boosted stocks. Hutchison Whampoa rallied 4.1% and Cheung Kong soared 4.2%.

In China, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index edged 0.14% higher to settle at 3,912.94. China''s economy grew at the fastest pace in 12 years in the second quarter and inflation surged, prompting speculation the government will raise interest rates. Property developers ended lower on rate increase concerns, with Beijing North Star losing 1.1% and China Merchants Property Development decreasing 2.5%.

In South Korea, the Kospi Index advanced 0.4% to 1937.90. Seoul Securities rallied to the daily limit of 15% as there are rumors the company is about to take over Kyobo Securities which also surged 13%. LG Electronics settled 1.7% higher after posting a better-than-expected net profit.

In Sydney, resource stocks and banks led the gainers. Miners advanced on higher commodities prices. BHP, the world''s largest mining company and Australia''s biggest oil producer, added 0.7%. Rio Tinto also gained 0.5%. Banks staged a strong performance with Macquarie closing 0.9% higher on upbeat earnings outlook. Commonwealth Bank of Australia rose 1.2% and National Australia Bank gained 1.7%.

7:30AM NY-6:30PM Mumbai Sensex soars 249 points in a large-cap rally.

The Sensex on BSE advanced Thursday 248.96 points, or 1.63%, and settled at 15,550.13.

The market opened 56 points higher at 15,357, which was also the intra-day low. Steady buying in large-cap stocks especially in the latter part of trading saw the market surge to an intra-day high of 15,593.

The market-breadth was fairly positive as there were three advancers for every two decliners. As 1,503 stocks advanced, 1,104 declined and 70 were unchanged. Of the 30 stocks in the Sensex, only four declined while 25 advanced and one was unchanged.

The turnover on BSE was Rs 5,699 crore, compared with Rs 5,750 crore on Wednesday. On NSE, turnover was Rs 11,591 crore, slightly higher than Rs 11,318 crore on Wednesday.