Stock market fixing:

Nikkei +15.29 +0.1% 12,768.25
Topix -4.16 -0.3% 1,219.53
FTSE +73.10 +1.32% 5,601.20
CAC +88.41 +2.02% 4,461.49
DAX +99.51 +1.57% 6,420.54
DOW +212.67 +1.85% 11,715.18
NASDAQ +29.18 +1.22% 2,411.64
S&P 500 +19.02 +1.48% 1,300.68
10yr Note +0.2300 +0.061% 3.795%
NYMEX Crude Oil -2.56 -2.17% 115.59
Gold +3.20 +0.38% 837.20

Japan's Topix index fell for a third day as a drop by developers on bankruptcy concerns overshadowed speculation banks will boost their stakes in consumer lenders.
Mitsui Fudosan Co. fell to a two-month low after Daiwa House Industry Co., Japan's second-biggest homebuilder by value, predicted more bankruptcies will follow the failure of seven listed property companies since July. Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. led a gauge of shipping lines to a two-week low as cargo rates for commodities fell for a sixth day. Acom Co. surged 8.8 percent, the most in almost 10 months, on a newspaper report Japan's biggest bank will lift its stake in the consumer lender.
The Topix index lost 4.16, or 0.3 percent, to close at 1,219.53 in Tokyo, giving it a three-day, 1.6 percent decline. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average edged up 15.29, or 0.1 percent, to 12,768.25. Three stocks fell for every two that rose on the Topix.
Failures of Japanese real estate companies will grow this year as banks cut back on lending, Daiwa House Chairman Takeo Higuchi said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. On Aug. 26, Sohken Homes Co. became the latest developer to file for debt protection, and bankruptcies in the industry doubled to 60 in July from a year earlier, according to Tokyo Shoko Research Ltd.
Mitsui Fudosan, the nation's largest real-estate company, dropped 3.1 percent to 2,225 yen, while Sumitomo Realty & Development Co., the third-biggest developer, slumped 2.5 percent to 2,125 yen. Condominium builder Hoosiers Corp. fell by its trading limit for a second day, losing 12 percent to a record low 7,030 yen. Real estate companies were the biggest decliner among 33 industry groups on the Topix.
Kawasaki Kisen, Japan's third-largest shipping line, fell 14 yen to 752, while bigger competitor Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. lost 1.6 percent to 1,261 yen. Inui Steamship Co. retreated 2.5 percent to 1,382 yen.
The Baltic Dry Index, a measure of shipping costs for commodities, fell for a sixth-straight trading day on weaker demand for so-called panamax ships to haul grains.
Canon Inc., the nation's biggest office-equipment maker, sank 5.2 percent to 4,790 yen, the steepest drop since March 3, after rival Ricoh Co. agreed to buy U.S. distributor Ikon Office Solutions Inc. for $1.62 billion in cash. Ricoh added 2.9 percent to 1,777 yen.


European stocks rose for a third day, led by exporters and banks, after the U.S. economy expanded more than previously estimated last quarter and Credit Agricole SA said a key measure of financial strength held steady.
CRH Plc rallied 4.9 percent and Siemens AG advanced 2.2 percent, leading gains among companies with at least 20 percent of their sales in the U.S. UBS AG, the European lender hardest hit by the collapse of America's subprime-mortgage market, climbed 4.6 percent. Credit Agricole, France's third-biggest bank, jumped 8.9 percent.
National benchmark indexes rose in all 18 western European markets except Iceland. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 1.3 percent, and Germany's DAX increased 1.6 percent. France's CAC 40 climbed 2 percent.
CRH, the world's second-biggest maker and distributor of building materials, rallied 4.9 percent to 18.10 euros. The company gets about 49 percent of its revenue from the Americas, according to data.
Siemens, the German engineering company that relies on the U.S. for almost 21 percent of its sales, climbed 2.2 percent to 74.96 euros.
UBS, the biggest Swiss bank, climbed 4.6 percent to 23.88 francs. Barclays Plc, the U.K.'s third-largest bank, rallied 5.8 percent to 349.5 pence.
Credit Agricole advanced 8.9 percent to 14.39 euros after saying its Tier 1 capital ratio held steady. The bank raised 5.9 billion euros ($8.7 billion) last month and lifted the Tier 1 capital ratio to 8.9 percent as of June 30. It remained at that level at the end of the second quarter, the company said today.
BT Group Plc added 4.4 percent to 172.5 pence. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its recommendation for the U.K.'s largest phone company to ``buy'' from ``neutral,'' saying risks to the share price are now discounted into the price.
In the U.K., the prospect of a recession and tighter mortgage lending discouraged home buyers, sending house prices to the biggest annual decline in almost two decades in August, according to Nationwide Building Society, Britain's fourth- biggest mortgage lender.
A surprisingly strong revision to second-quarter economic growth gives Wall Street a boost
Stocks gains accelerated Thursday, as a surprisingly strong reading on second-quarter economic growth took the edge off recession fears and oil prices backed off morning highs.
Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the economy, increased by a 3.3% annualized rate in the second quarter, the government reported. The revised reading improved on the initial report of 1.9% issued late last month and topped expectations for a growth rate of 2.7%.
It was the best reading since the third quarter of 2007 and showed a marked improvement from the sluggish 0.9% pace in the first quarter. The growth was partly attributable to a spike in exports as a result of the weak dollar. However, many experts also credited the rise to the more than $90 billion in economic stimulus checks that reached taxpayers during the quarter, suggesting that a sustained pickup is unlikely now that the rebates have ended.
In other economic news, a separate government report showed that the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment fell for the third week in a row, meeting expectations.
Oil prices briefly surged to a session high of $120.50 a barrel before retreating as Tropical Storm Gustav continued to threaten key oil production facilities in the Gulf of Mexico.
U.S. light crude oil for October delivery fell 32 cents to $117.83 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Fannie Mae rose after announcing management changes late Wednesday, including the departure of the chief financial officer and two other executives, and the promotion of three other executives.
Tiffany & Co. reported stronger fiscal second-quarter sales and earnings that topped expectations and also boosted its full-year forecast.
In the bond market, Treasury prices slipped, raising the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 4.41% from 3.76% late Wednesday. Prices and yields move in opposite directions.
COMEX gold for December delivery rose $4.80 to $838.80 an ounce.

The dollar rebounded from the lowest level against the euro this week as the U.S. economy expanded in the second quarter faster than previously estimated and crude oil prices decreased.
The pound dropped to near a record low against the euro and depreciated versus the dollar as house prices in Britain fell this month at the fastest annual pace in almost 20 years. The decline in crude oil pushed Canada's dollar down the most in almost three weeks.
Sterling declined. The average value of a home in the U.K. fell 10.5 percent in August to 164,654 pounds ($301,500), the biggest drop since the final quarter of 1990, Nationwide Building Society said today.
Crude oil for October delivery dropped 3.2 percent to $114.41 a barrel
The Commerce Department reported a 3.3 percent annualized increase in gross domestic product from April through June that was higher than the previous estimate of 1.9 percent. The economy grew at a 0.9 percent pace in the first quarter.
The euro rose yesterday the most against the dollar in almost a week as European Central Bank council member Axel Weber said in an interview in Frankfurt that policy makers may need to raise borrowing costs once the economic outlook ``brightens'' toward the end of the year. Annual inflation of 4 percent in the 15 nations using the euro is twice the ECB's target of just below 2 percent.
``We're still feeling the impact of hawkish comments,'' said Dustin Reid, a senior currency strategist at ABN Amro Bank NV in Chicago.



European data for Friday starts at 0600GMT with German wholesale sales for July. At 0800GMT, ECB Governing Council member Klaus Liebscher holds a final news conference before retiring, in Vienna, at the same time as the release of Italian retail sales for June. There is a raft of Eurozone data for August due at 0900GMT, including the economic sentiment index (seen slipping to 89.2), the business climate indicator and flash HICP, which is expected to come in at 3.9% y/y. The July unemployment rate is due at the same time and is forecast to remain at 7.3%. The Italian preliminary HICP data is also due at the same time.
US data starts at 1230GMT with personal income, expenditures and the PCE core price index for July. Personal income is expected to be

flat in July, as payrolls fell 51,000, the workweek fell to 33.6 hours, and hourly earnings posted a trend 0.3% gain. The stream of stimulus payments should be tapering off in this month's data. PCE is forecast to rise a smaller 0.3% in July, as auto sales were again weak and non-auto retail sales rose only 0.4%. The core price index is forecast to rise 0.3%, the same as in the previous month.

At1300GMTm the New York NAPM for August is due, followed at 1345GMT by the Chicago PMI for August and at 1355GMT by the latest

University of Michigan data. The Chicago PMI is expected to fall to a reading of 49.5 in August. Other regional data already released has
suggested continued sluggish growth with some contraction. Meanwhile, the Reuters/University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index is expected to be revised upward to 62.0 in August.