U.S. homebuilders, real estate stocks rise after Fed rate cut

** Shares of U.S. homebuilders rose after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point at its policy meeting

** Falling bond yields may result in lower mortgage rates, which can boost housing affordability and support demand for new homes, benefiting homebuilders

** Among homebuilders, Lennar LEN.N rises 2% and D.R. Horton DHI.N up 1.4%

** Peer Pultegroup PHM.N up 1.8%, KB Home KBH.N adds 2.5%, Toll Brothers TOL.N gains 1.3% and NVR Inc NVR.N rises 1.6%

** The rate cuts could also reduce borrowing costs for real estate investment trusts, making financing more accessible

** S&P 500 Real Estate index .SPLRCR up 1.3%; biggest contributors to index's gain include Alexandria Real Estate ARE.N up 1.8%, Prologis PLD.N 1.3% and American Tower AMT.N 2%

** S&P 1500 Homebuilding index .SPCOMHOME gains 3.3%, and PHLX Housing Index .HGX up 1.7% on the session