Home builders jumped after the housing report today. Taylor Wimpey soared 6% to 275p, Persimmons added 4.7% to 953p, and Barratt Developers increased 3.7% to 753p. Home prices in September increased 0.7% from the August month to 184,723 pounds, an increase of 9% from a year ago according to Nationwide Building Society.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation Development, OECD said the UK may need to lower interest rates to sustain its economic growth. Global credit crunch could cut Britain''s economic growth rate below the 2.5% expected next year. Initial projections indicated that the global financial turmoil may slow down the UK economy by 1%.

Of the FTSE 100 shares, Alliance was the biggest gainer. It surged 8.46%. Homebuilder, Taylor Wimpey jumped 6.59%, Northern Rock at 6.32%, Standard Life at 5.9% while HBOS closed weaker at 4.9%.

British Airline stock closed higher at 4.2% after it placed an order of 36 planes at a list price of $8.2 billion. The airline will purchase 12 Airbus A380 and Boeing 787 planes. According to news reports, it is the biggest purchase in 9 years. The deliveries are expected between 2010 and 2014. The new deliveries will increase the airlines’ capacity by 4%. The purchase of the aircraft will be partly funded by debt of $1.5 billion. The airline would increase capacity and frequency on flights to Hong Kong, Los Angeles and San Francisco from London Heathrow. The planes will use Rolls Royce engines.

Of the stocks in the FTSE 100 index, Compass led the losers. It lost 2.97% followed by losses in Vedanta Resources of 2.47%, Tullow Oil of 1.9%, Kazakhmys Plc of 1.7% while Scottish, and Castle closed fell 1.68%.

U.K. based Foxtons closed its U.S. real estate brokerage business after the company ran out of money, according to Asbury Park Press newspaper in New Jersey. The discount broker with a 3% commission and salaried staff failed to catch on as other realtors avoided selling homes listed with the company. The company laid off most of its staff of 380 people and may file for bankruptcy protection.

11:00AM New York, 8:30PM Mumbai - Sensex in Mumbai surged on short covering ahead of expiry of September 2007 derivatives. Sugar stocks declined.

Sensex in Mumbai closed at record level on short-covering ahead of expiry of September 2007 derivatives contracts. IT stocks also recovered from previous losses.

The 30-Sensex index closed up 1.35% or 229 to close at 17,150.56. The CNX Nifty was up 1.22% or 60.05 to a new high of 5,000.55. Of the BSE stocks, 1,274 shares advanced, 1,457 retreated while 328 remained unchanged.

Among the 30-member Sensex pack, 21 advanced while the rest declined. Reliance Energy led the gainer with a rise of 8% to 1,108 rupees and Ambuja Cements led the decliners with a loss of 2.5% decline to 144 rupees followed by Hindustan Unilever with a loss of 2.3% to 220 rupees.

The Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange Stock have sought explanation from Reliance Natural Resources Ltd, whose share price has nearly doubled over the few days on news reports about its business plans. Stock market authorities in India brought the company under scrutiny last week to review possibilities of insider trading.

Reliance Natural Resources share price hit record peak of 103 rupees Tuesday from 52 rupees in September. The company had earlier indicated that it plans to sell its stake in alternative energy project and build a natural gas distribution network in different metropolitan areas.

Other gainer in the Sensex index included Infosys with a rise of 5.2% to 1,920 rupees and HDFC Bank 4.3% to 1,435 rupees. Reliance Industries slipped 0.17% to 2,317 rupees. Oil & Natural Gas Corporation closed higher at 3.7% to 972 rupees.

East India Hotel gained 2.8% to 119 rupees after the company severed its ties with Hilton hotels. The strategic partnership involved marketing and branding hotels under Trident Hilton name for fifteen years till 2019.

Praj Industries declined 0.5% to 237 rupees after the founders Pramod and Pramila Chaudhari sold 1.4 crore shares at 251 rupees to Tata Sons. The ethanol distillation and refinery developer based in Pune has investment from venture capitalist Vinod Khosla.

Rajesh Exports soared 6% to 982 rupees after the company plan to issue bonus shares and invite additional capital from international investors.

Satyam (SAY: chart) intends to acquire IT infrastructure management services companies in the U.S. and Europe to serve its banking and telecom clients. Satyam draws most of its revenue from selling business software, consulting and process outsourcing. The company has seen rapid growth in the infrastructure management services sector where it assists companies their networks and databases. Satyam is also planning to consolidate its presence in China, Malaysia and Egypt as it adds its build its staff in these regions.

Bharat Heavy Electricals rose 2.4% to 2,035 rupees after receiving an order of 765 crore rupees from Steel Authority of India for a 62 MW power plant.

Traders also lifted stocks of DLF 1.4% to 749 rupees after it filed for telecom license and United Breweries soared 10% to 883 rupees after its founder acquired 50% stake in Epic Aircraft based in Oregon, U.S.A.

9:00AM New York, 9:00PM Tokyo - Financial stocks lift Japan higher on improved sentiment.

Japan financial stocks rallied boosted by confidence lenders will recover from the global credit crunch. Investor confidence in lenders heightened on expectations the U.S Federal Reserve will cut interest rates further after a drop in U.S. durable goods orders.

In Tokyo trading Nikkei 225 added 2.41% or 396.48 to 16,832.22, the highest in seven weeks. Banks and realty stocks led the advance. Resona Holdings led the gainers in the sector with a sharp rise of 13.41%. Mitsubishi UFJ Nicos, Shinsei Bank Limited rallied as well. Of the Nikkei index shares 209 gained, 14 declined and 2 were unchanged. Suruga Bank Ltd. Soared 11% after the bank said that it exploring an arrangement for branch network and small business lending. Real estate developers Mitsui Fudosan jumped 7.7% and Sumitomo Realty & Development added 8%.