5:00PM NY; 11:00PM Frankfurt; 3:30AM Mumbai - GLOBAL MARKETS

Markets in New York trading closed lower dragged by worries related to weakening housing market, dropping consumer confidence and possible drop in consumer spending. Latin American markets lost ground in sympathy with the U.S. market. European markets rose at the opening but closed mixed, led by a rise in Germany and Spain but decline in Switzerland and Norway. Asian markets closed broadly lower led by a decline of more than 1% in volatile India.

Yield on 10-year bond closed at 4.614% and the 30-year bond closed at 4.811%.

Gold lost $1.400 to close at $662.500 a troy ounce, silver decreased 13 cents to end at $13.280 a troy ounce and copper advanced $128.500 to close at $6893.500 per ton.

Oil gained 2 cents to close at $62.930 a barrel and heating oil advanced 1.030 cents to finish at 178.640 cents a gallon. Natural gas increased 24.9 cents to close at $7.503 per MMBtu. Gasoline went up 0.530 cents to end at 207.300 cents a gallon.

Asian markets closed mostly lower after weak U.S. new-home sales raised concern that economic growth could be slowing in the region''s most important export market. The decliners were led by India with a decrease of 1.22%, Japan with a loss of 0.90% and Taiwan with a decline of 0.41%. The advancers were led by Singapore with a gain of 0.92%, Philippines with an advance of 0.78% and Indonesia with an increase of 0.33%. Australia lost 0.30%.

European markets finished mixed as advances for DaimlerChrysler and Adidas and strong economic data out of Germany was balanced by disappointing economic news out of the U.S. and concerns over possible deal activity from Barclays and Persimmon. The advancers were led by Belgium with an advance of 0.53%, Spain with an increase of 0.46% and Germany with a gain of 0.43%. The decliners were led by Norway with a decline of 0.64%, Switzerland with a decrease of 0.44% and Netherlands with a loss of 0.12%.

Latin America markets finished lower in reaction to more signs of a weakening housing market in the U.S. and worsening consumer confidence. The decliners were led by Argentina with a decrease of 0.85%, Brazil with a decline of 0.65% and Mexico with a loss of 0.17%. There were no advancers. Canada lost 0.55% as softer oil prices, continued turmoil in the U.S. housing market and profit-taking combined to fuel widespread selling.


2:30PM NY, U.S. Market Movers

In New York trading stocks traded lower on weak consumer confidence and decline in level of housing index. New issue of Aruba Networks rose 24% on its first day of trading.

Akorn (AKRX) said it has signed a three-year distribution agreement with publicly-operated manufacturer Massachusetts Biologic Laboratories for tetanus diphtheria vaccine. Akorn said it expects the deal to add 10 cents to 11 cents a share per year to its earnings, with revenue in excess of $150 million over the course of the agreement which begins on Sept. 1, 2007. Shares climbed 10.6%.

FuelCell Energy (FCEL) shares surged 21.8% after the company announced a lucrative deal to supply fuel cell power products to Connecticut. The Connecticut Clean Energy Fund selected FuelCell for six power projects that would total about 68 megawatts, the company said Tuesday. The deal would be valued at $200 million if all the projects are approved.

GameStop Corp. (GME) shares jumped 11% after the video-game retailer''s fourth-quarter results and current-year guidance topped forecasts. For the quarter the company earned $129.8 million, or 81 cents a share, on revenue of $2.3 billion. During the year-earlier period, the company earned $85 million, or 55 cents a share, on revenue of $1.67 billion.

Nuvelo Inc. (NUVO) jumped 24.6% after the Food and Drug Administration gave the company two fast-track designations for its colorectal cancer drug, rNAPc2. The move enables Nuvelo to submit information for its market application on a rolling basis.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (BCRX) said it has placed a hold on a Phase II clinical trial for its intravenous leukemia treatment Fodosine due to problems with the drug''s stability. The company slumped 17.4%.

Electronic Clearing House (ECHO) said that it was a witness in a federal investigation and would no longer be acquired by financial software maker Intuit Inc., pushing its shares down 35.4%.

Hawaiian Holdings Inc. (HA) shares slumped 23.1% after the parent of Hawaiian Airlines said a bitter fare war will cut into its first-quarter results. Hawaiian said it expects first-quarter passenger yield to fall 11% to 12% from the first quarter of 2006.

LL&E Royalty Trust (LRT) announced there will be no Trust income distribution for the month of April 2007 for Unit holders of record on April 5, 2007. This release relates to production for the month of January 2007. Trust related expenses for the month of January 2007 totaled $105,051 while Royalty income for the month of January 2007 will be $91,359. Trust expenditures in excess of royalty income received will reduce the Trust''s reserve for Trust expenses.

Metropolitan Health Networks Inc. (MDF) shares fell 9.7% after the healthcare services provider posted a fourth-quarter net loss of $2.72 million, or 5 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $545,138, or a penny per share, in the year-ago period. Revenue jumped 18.4%, to $55.7 million versus $47.1 million in the same period last year.