1:00PM NY, 5:00 PM Frankfurt European markets closed mostly higher, boosted by ABB and Nordic.

European stock markets finished mostly higher Monday, continuing a six-session winning streak. Market gainers were led higher by engineering-services giant ABB as well as Nordic exchange operator OMX. France closed higher by 0.4%, while Germany finished down 0.3%. London''s market was closed for a bank holiday.

ABB climbed 0.9% after the Swiss-Swedish company agreed to sell its oil and gas division Lummus to Chicago Bridge & Iron Co for $950 million. Nordic stock exchange operator OMX rose 1.7% on reports the Nasdaq Stock Market is planning to raise its bid.

In Frankfurt stocks dropped, led by engineering company Siemens and semiconductor Infineon Technologies. The stocks dropped 1.6% and 1%, respectively. Banking shares moved to the downside amid subprime-mortgage concerns, with Allianz posting the biggest loss of 1.3%. Stock-exchange operator Deutsche Boerse fell 1.1% amid speculations that it may buy part of Nasdaq''s 31% stake in the LSE.

On the positive side, tire maker Continental rose 1.1% and Volkswagen added 0.7% amid reports Europe''s largest carmaker plans to assemble six models at its new Russian plant. Balda, maker of plastic casings for mobile phones, surged 20% after winning an order for touch-screen displays.

In Paris stocks gained, led by Renault, BNP Paribas SA and Air France-KLM Group. French second-biggest carmaker, car maker advanced 1.6% amid reports it is considering a partnership with GM’s Opel division which will result in cost. In the financial sector, BNP Paribas added 1%. Elsewhere, airline Air France advanced 0.8%, while Bouygues, the world''s second-largest builder, gained 0.5%.


11:30AM Market averages dropped further lower, pressured by economic growth concerns.

U.S. stock averages moved further to the downside amid concerns about the economic growth, sparked by signs of growing weakness in the housing sector. A notable decrease in crude oil prices also generated negative market sentiment, sending energy stocks down. Exxon (XOM: chart) declined 0.8%, while shares of oil giant Chevron (CVX: chart) dropped 0.6%.

Utilities stocks were also notable decliners after last-week strong performance. Shares of big manufacturers, banks and other financial services companies posted the heaviest losses. 3M Co (MMM: chart) declined 1.1%, General Electric Co (GE: chart) lost 0.9%, while shares of Boeing Co (BA: chart) fell 0.7%.

Among financials, shares of the biggest U.S. mortgage lender, Countrywide Financial Corp (CFC: chart), dropped 4.8% after Lehman Brothers downgraded its stock. JPMorgan (JPM: chart) dropped 1.3%, whereas Citigroup (C: chart) slipped 0.9%.

Housing stocks came under pressure, following the release of a report on existing home sales, which showed a modest decline in sales, 0.2%, and a significant increase in inventories of unsold homes. The National Association of Realtors said that inventories of unsold single-family homes climbed 2.2% to 3.85 million in July, sending the inventory in relation to sales to the highest level in 16 years.

Shares of home improvement retailer Home Depot (HD: chart) rose 1.8% on news that agreed to sell off its wholesale-supply unit for $8.5 B, which is $1.8 B less than previously planned.

Tech stocks were given a boost by deal news in the sector. Shares of personal-computer maker Gateway (GTW: chart) skyrocketted 48% after Taiwan''s Acer agreed to buy the company for 710 million, or $1.90 a share, a 57% premium to Friday''s closing price. On the side of the losers, Apple (APPL: chart) dropped 1.8% and EMC Corp. (EMC: chart) slipped 2.1%.

In late morning trading, the Dow fell 52.59, or 0.39%, to 13,326.28. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index fell 9.64, or 0.65%, to 1,948.69, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 15.06, or 0.58%, to 2,561.63. Bonds rose, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note falling to 4.60% from 4.62% late Friday.

Existing-home sales fell 0.2% in July.

Monday morning, the National Association of Realtors released its report on existing home sales in the month of July, showing that existing home sales fell modestly compared to an upwardly revised reading for the previous month. The report showed that existing home sales edged down 0.2 percent to an annual rate of 5.75 million units in July from an upwardly revised pace of 5.76 million units in June. With the decrease, existing home sales were down 9.0 percent year-over-year. Economists had been expecting existing home sales to fall to a 5.70 million unit rate compared to the 5.75 million unit rate originally reported for the previous month.

The modest decrease in existing home sales was due in large part to a 2.2 percent drop in sales in the Midwest, which was partly offset by a 1.8 percent increase in sales in the West and a 1.0 percent increase in sales in the Northeast. The report also showed that the national median existing-home price for all housing types was $228,900 in July. The median price was down 0.6 percent from July of 2006, when the median was $230,200, the highest monthly price on record. NAR added that total housing inventory rose 5.1 percent to 4.59 million existing homes available for sale at the end of July. This represents a 9.6-month supply at the current sales pace, up from an upwardly revised 9.1-month supply in June.


11:00AM New York, 8:30PM Mumbai – Traders in Mumbai focused on local news and lifted the index.