12:30PM NY – US stocks fall on housing index fall and larger than expected fall in consumer confidence

Market averages fell at mid-day trading led by a sharp fall in stocks in housing and construction industry. The S&P Case-Shiller composite index dropped 0.7% in January from a year ago. The index tracks prices of homes in 10 metropolitan markets and index that tracks prices in 20 metros fell 0.2%.

Home builder Lennar Inc (LEN: chart) fell $1.02 or 2% at mid-day trading on the report that its first quarter profit fell 73% on revenue decline of 14%. The company reported earnings per share of 43 cents compared to $1.58 a year ago. The company also said that it is not likely to meet the earnings guidance for the year 2007. In the last one year the stock has traded between $62.38 and $38.66. The news dragged the entire housing sector down.

The Conference Board in New York reported consumer confidence in March fell to 107.2, down from the revised February level of 111.2.

9:30AM The FTSE 100 was edges higher Tuesday on bid talk involving Next.

The UK market was slightly higher on Tuesday. By mid-day, the FTSE 100 added 0.17%, to 6,302.

Advancers

Next led the advancers with a gain of 3.6% on a report that a leading investment bank has joined forces with a private equity group to work on an leveraged buyout of the retailer.

Miners were higher, helped by stronger commodity prices and hopes for further consolidation in the sector. Kazakhmys added 0.6%, after Citigroup upgraded its recommendation from hold to buy.

Xstrata was up 1.3% on the announcement on Monday that it was to acquire Canadian nickel and gold miner LionOre Mining International. Other miners trading strongly included Rio Tinto, up 1%, Anglo American, up 1.2%, and BHP Billiton, higher by 1.4%.

Signet led the mid-cap advancers with an increase of 3.6%, after Morgan Stanley upgraded the jewllery retailer from equal weight to overweight and raised its price target. Emap rose 2.6% as the media group confirmed it was considering its options relating to its radio operations in the Republic of Ireland. GCap Media added 3.7% after the radio company said advertising revenues had improved steadily over the last six months

Decliners

Cairn Energy, off 2%, is to pay for 70% of a new pipeline to transport oil from its fields in Rajahstan, India. Indian state-oil group ONGC will fund the rest. Oil services group John Wood says chairman Ian Wood and associated family trusts are to sell 50 million shares in the company.

Reportedly, Persimmon could gatecrash the proposed 5.4 billion pounds merger between housebuilders Taylor Woodrow and George Wimpey. Persimmon edged 0.9% lower and John Wood Group fell 4.2%. George Wimpey fell 1.7%.

9:00AM Asian markets finish mostly lower on Tuesday on export-related stocks.
Asian markets finished mostly lower on Tuesday. The Nikkei 225 average was down 0.9% to 17,365.05, as about 90% of Nikkei 225 constituents were to go ex-dividend from Tuesday, accounting for about 90 points of the decline in the Japanese benchmark. Among higher-yielding issues to go ex-dividend Tuesday, NTT DoCoMo fell 1.4%, while NEC Electronics fell 1.2%. Canon fell 0.5%. Japanese automotive issues traded weaker, with Toyota Motor Corp ending 1.2% lower while Nissan Motors shed 2.4%.

Hong Kong Hang Seng Index ended 0.3% lower at 19,706.79. The China Enterprises Index, a gauge of Hong Kong-listed mainland shares, rose 0.2% to 9,573.62, as energy-related stocks tracked gains in crude-oil prices. Also in the region, Australia S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.4%, while Taiwan Weighted Price Index lost 0.4% and Thailand SET Index fell 0.2%.

Of the gainers, Singapore Straits Times Index was up 0.9%, as well as New Zealand NZSX-50, which ended the session up 0.5%, and Indonesia JSX Composite, up 0.3%. South Korea Kospi index rose 0.2%, as did Malaysian KLSE Composite. China Shanghai Composite Index swung from a hesitant start to set an intraday record of 3135.23, boosted by gains in banking and utility shares.

7:00AM European stocks were higher on Tuesday on Porsche stake in VW.
European markets were higher on Tuesday. By mid morning, Frankfurt Xetra Dax added 0.8% to 6,880.21, the CAC 40 in Paris gained 0.6% to 5,609.87 and London FTSE 100 climbed 0.6% to 6,327.9.

Advancers

Porsche shares gained 3.4% after the sports car manufacturer exercised an option on Monday to lift its voting stake in Volkswagen to 30.9%, above the 30% threshold that should trigger a takeover bid.

DaimlerChrysler climbed 2.8% as speculation that it was poised to announce a sale of its US Chrysler unit prompted a number of upgrades. Morgan Stanley lifted its price target on the stock.