U.S. MARKET AVERAGES

A sharp decline in oil prices and upbeat earnings and guidance news from Lowe's Cos eased worries about corporate profits and sent stocks higher.

Lowe's jumped 4.4% on earnings that beat profit forecasts by 7 cents per share. The company also posted a very strong outlook for future earnings that came in well above analysts' forecasts.

Oil tumbled, following Friday's surge. A barrel of light crude was quoted at $61, down $1.91, on the Nymex.

A disappointing report on the housing market from the Commerce Department failed to impress investors. January new home sales dropped 5% to 1.233 million units, vs. expectations of sales of 1.27 million for the month.

Stewart & Stevenson Services (SVC: chart) hit a new 52-week high on a deal to be acquired by Armor Holdings (AH: chart) which also broke to a fresh peak. Wyeth (WYE: chart) extended gains helped by news that the company received a favorable jury verdict in a diet drug case.

ECC Capital (ECR: chart) broke to a new 52-week low, saying that it will not distribute a common stock dividend for the first quarter. Vodafone (VOD: chart) dropped to a fresh low as well, with the stock falling below a recent trading range.

In midday trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 56.03, or 0.51%. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index added 6.15, or 0.48%, and the Nasdaq composite index gained 21.54, or 0.94%.

Bonds slipped lower, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury rising to 4.59% from 4.58% late Friday.

MOVERS AND SHAKERS

Dana Corp. (DCN: chart), auto-parts maker, said it was in discussions with banks to resolve its financing difficulties and would come to a resolution within two weeks. On Friday the stock tumbled as it obtained a waiver from its lenders over its required credit rating on its accounts-receivable-securitization program. On Monday the stock surged 30%.

Wilshire Enterprises (WOC: chart) received an acquisition proposal from Mercury Real Estate Advisors LLC, an affiliate of real estate investment firm Mercury Partners LLC. The offer values Wilshire at $8.50 per share in cash, a slight premium to Wilshire''s Friday closing price of $8.20. The company’s shares gained 3.8%.

Superior Essex (SPSX: chart) ,wire and copper maker, posted Q4 earnings drop of 16.7% to $3 million, or 18 cents a share, hurt by non-cash equity compensation and a bad debt provision for customer insolvencies. Excluding special items, earnings per share surged 79% to 25 cents a share and revenue rose 37% to $523 million. Company’s shares dropped 9.3%.

Vodafone group (VOD: chart), U.K. mobile operator, announced it will write off up to $49 billion of its assets, mostly relating to its German business. The stock fell 4%.

ECONOMIC NEWS

The Department of Commerce released its report on new home sales in the month of January on Monday, showing that sales fell compared to an upwardly revised reading for the month of December.

The report showed that new home sales fell 5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.233 million units in January from a revised rate of 1.298 million units in December.

Economists had been expecting new home sales to come in at a 1.278 million unit rate compared to the 1.269 million unit rate originally reported for December.

The drop in new home sales reflected double-digit percentage declines in each of the four regions of the country. Sales in the Northeast showed a notable decline, falling 14.5 percent.

The report also showed that the seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of January came in at 528,000, representing a supply of 5.2 months at the current sales rate.