Monday's mid-afternoon trade: US indices fall on housing data

US stocks fell on Monday after data showed the inventory of unsold properties soared to its highest level in over 15 years as subprime mortgage market troubles continued to wreak havoc in the housing sector.
Shares of industrial conglomerates dependent on economic growth, such as United Technologies and General Electric Co, were among the biggest drags on the market as investors worried about the impact of the housing slump on the economy.
Other big losers included shares of banks and other financial services companies, which slid on lingering credit worries.
"The home numbers were definitely weak," said Giri Cherukuri, head trader at OakBrook Investments LLC in Lisle, Illinois. "But generally things have calmed down a bit."
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 27.23 points, or 0.20 percent, at 13,351.64. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 8.47 points, or 0.57 percent, at 1,470.90. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 10.53 points, or 0.41 percent, at 2,566.16.
The National Association of Realtors reported the pace of sales of previously owned US homes fell slightly in July, while the supply of unsold single-family homes - the bulk of the inventory included in the data - rose to the highest level since 1991. The Dow Jones home construction index .D fell 3.7 percent.
Shares of private equity firm Blackstone Group dropped 2.5 percent to $23.82 after news that Home Depot Inc slashed the buyout price of its supply unit. The price reduction salvaged the deal, but it added to fears financing for deals could become more stringent.
Home Depot's stock jumped 1.7 percent to $35.26 on the New York Stock Exchange. "There is a little bit of relief that at least some type of deal got through. But the fact it was done at such a discount foreshadows more difficulties to come," said Cherukuri.
Shares of Countrywide Financial Corp, the biggest US mortgage lender, dropped 4.9 percent to $19.98 on the NYSE after Lehman Brothers lowered its 2007 and 2008 earnings per share estimates.
In a move that also hurt investment banks, Goldman Sachs analyst William Tanona slashed his third-quarter earnings forecast for Bear Stearns Cos Inc, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc and Morgan Stanley.
Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers' shares were both down more than 3 percent. Morgan Stanley's shares slipped 1 percent to $63.89. Shares of GE declined 1.1 percent to $38.99, while United Technologies fell 0.8 percent to $73.73.