U.S. stocks edged higher in the morning after thirty minutes of trading. Dow Jones Industrial Average edged 28 to 13,574, Nasdaq increased 3.5 to 2,798, and S&P 500 gained 4.84 to 1,507.

Sun Microsystems fell 5% after reporting lower than expected earnings and 1% decline in sales. Archer Daniels Midlands lost 1% after reporting 9.5% rise in third quarter earnings. ADM reported earnings of $411 million or 68 cents compared to $403 million or 61 cents on revenue increase of 36% to $12.38 billion.

Asian markets recovered after a day of weak trading on the worries related to the U.S. sub-prime crisis.

South Korea led the gainers in the region with a rise of 1.9% followed by increases in Hong Kong of 1.71%, in Thailand of 1.54%, in Pakistan and Indonesia of 1.1%, and in Singapore of 0.35%. India led the decliners with a fall of 1% followed by fractional declines in Taiwan, Japan, and Sri Lanka.

European markets edged higher led by mining and energy stocks. Norway le the gainers in the region with a rise of 1.9% followed by increases in Spain and Switzerland of 0.8%, in U.K. and France of 0.7%, and in Germany and Italy of 0.6%.

RTP led the sector with a rise of 4%, followed by increases in BHP Billiton of 3% followed by increases in Xastra of 1.9%, and Vedanta Resources of 1.5%.

Marks & Spencer increased 3.0% after the earnings report and it said that it will buy back 1 billion pounds of stocks.

Swiss Re rose 2% after reporting third quarter earnings after it reported earnings of Sfr1.47 billion compared to Sfr1.55 billion from a year ago.

BMW reported third quarter profit of 803 million euros compared to 452 million euros a year ago on 19% rise in revenue to 13.78 billion euros. BMW fell 3% after the news.

Crude Oil rose $2.06 to $96.04, gold increased $13.60 to $824.40, and natural gas increased 7 cents to $8.07.

6:00AM New York, 7:00PM Tokyo - Tokyo closed 0.12% lower on sell off of high-tech stocks. Japan’s Leading Index for outlook of business conditions slumps to a decade low.

Japan’s stock index retreated from a 0.4% gain in the morning session to close 0.12% down on sell-off in tech stocks.

In Tokyo trading Nikkei 225 slid 0.12% or 19.29 to 16,249.63, the lowest since September 18, while the broader Topix Index fell 0.03% to 1,574.59.

In the first section of Tokyo Stock Exchange 9.6 billion shares worth 1.2 trillion yen were traded and in the second section 338 million shares valued 6.4 billion yen changed hands.

Of the Nikkei 2225 stocks, 106 rose, 112 declined, and 7 traded unchanged. Of the index stocks, 16 shares lost 2%. Fujikura Limited led decliners, plunging 13.60%, followed by Softbank Corp fell 6.54%.

Cabinet Office reported today in its report Indexes of Business Conditions for September that the Leading Index, which is a key gauge for outlook of the economy, plunged to a decade low at 0% in September from 27.3% in August. The index is a collective measure of leading indicators including new job offers, stock prices, and housing starts.

The Coincident Index plummeted to 66.7% from 85.0% Lagging Index fell to 25.0% from 40% in that order.

The statistics for the index of inventory ratio to final finished goods, producer goods for the mining and manufacturing sector and total floor area of housing construction starts were negative. In addition, the consumer confidence index remained negative.

According to the Cabinet Office, the index of industrial production for mining and manufacturing and producers shipments was positive in September, while for Tertiary Industrial Activity, which measures business services, was unchanged in the month under review. Furthermore, business expenditure on plant and equipment was unchanged and unemployment was negative.

Bloomberg news reported today the Ministry of Finance said it has boosted wheat and barley import budget by 23% or 55 billion yen to 298 billion yen for the fiscal year 2008 ending in March. The increase reflects record jumps in the grains prices. The government spent 203 billion in the fiscal 2007.