China’s real estate market has turned out to be a combat zone for central and local governments warring over policy measures. Over the first half of 2012, local governments have introduced various policies to fuel real estate markets, which they see as a source of much-needed funds.

In other news, requests for US home loans moved down in the week ended August 10, with demand for new loans down for the fifth straight week as interest rates held steady, according to an industry group Wednesday. The seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity of the Mortgage Bankers Association, which includes both refinancing and home purchase demand, dropped 4.5 percent last week. The measure of loan applications for home purchases, a leading indicator of home sales, fell 2.0 percent.

During last trading session, Banco Santander, S.A. (ADR) (NYSE:SAN) surged 0.92% and closed at $6.57 with the total traded volume of 1.95 million shares lower than the average volume of 6.90 million. The 61.99 billion bank’s Brazilian unit had unveiled a plan to raise the volume of mortgages it offers as well as loans to real estate developers.

Barclays PLC (ADR) (NYSE:BCS) will reduce some of its popular mortgage rates by up to 0.30 percentage points on Thursday and reportedly plans to introduce a five year fixed rate at 4.89 per cent for those with a smaller deposit.

The stock moved up +0.35% with the closing price of $11.53. The overall volume in the last trading session was 2.62 million shares. Its fifty two week range was $8.38-$16.41. The total market capitalization remained $35.27 billion.

BCS is ahead of its 52 week low with 40.72% and its last month price volatility remained 2.42%. Its beta coefficient was 2.63 with a target price of $21.59. In its share capital the bank has 3.06 billion outstanding shares while 2.81 billion shares have been floated in market. BCS has institutional ownership of 3.20%.

In the last trading session, UBS AG (USA) (NYSE:UBS), which is reportedly preparing to diversify to tap corporate banking as deals slow‎, slipped -0.74% to close at $10.74 and its overall traded volume was 1.93 million shares. Its price to earnings ratio stands at 15.45.

During the last trading session, Credit Suisse Group AG (ADR) (NYSE:CS) fell -1.63% and closed at $17.45 with the total traded volume of 1.56 million shares, less than the average volume of 2.54 million. It has market capitalization of 22.39 billion.