US MARKET

tocks are little changed in mid-morning trading on Monday, unable to hold onto initial gains as a mixed bag of earnings and a drop in homebuilder confidence is weighing on the markets. The major averages have pulled back near the unchanged line after seeing early strength.

A short time ago, the National Association of Home Builders reported that homebuilder confidence deteriorated by more than anticipated in the month of July, with the decrease reflecting concerns about the housing market following the expiration of the homebuyer tax credit.

The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index fell to 14 in July from a downwardly revised 16 in June, while economists had expected the index to edge down to 16 from the 17 originally reported for the previous month. With the decrease, the index fell to its lowest level since April 2009.

In earnings news, Halliburton Co. (HAL) announced that its second-quarter net income rose to $0.53 per share on revenues of $4.4 billion. Analysts expected the firm to earn $0.37 per share on revenues of $4.09 billion for the quarter.

Further, Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL) said it swung to a second-quarter profit of $0.65 per share, topping estimates for $0.63 per share. Total revenue for the quarter increased 17 percent to $8.17 billion but fell short of the $8.27 billion estimated for the period.

Earlier in the day, Dutch consumer electronics company Philips Electronics (PHG) reported a surge in its second-quarter profit. The jump reflected strong sales growth in lighting, consumer lifestyle and emerging market segments.

In other news from overseas, Moody's Investor Services downgraded Ireland's credit rating from Aa2 to Aa1, citing a significant loss of financial strength as the primary reason. However, the ratings agency upgraded its outlook on the country's credit to 'Stable' from 'Negative.'

Meanwhile, BP Plc (BP) continues to monitor its new cap, which is seemingly holding the ruptured well shut, although some seepage was detected a distance from the disaster site.

Boeing (BA) is also in focus after the company implied at the Farnborough International Airshow that demand for commercial aircraft was on the way to recovery. The firm also said it does not see a holdup in its much delayed Dreamliner aircraft past January.

The major averages are currently posting modest losses, adding to the steep losses posted in the previous session. The Dow is down 10.83 points or 0.1 percent at 10,087.07, the Nasdaq is down 2.74 points or 0.1 percent at 2,176.31 and the S&P 500 is down 2.23 points or 0.2 percent at 1,062.65.

CANADIAN, COMMODITIES MARKET

Bay Street stocks may witness a lackluster session Monday amid flat commodities prices and mixed cues from the overseas equity markets. Traders will also turn cautious ahead of the latest interest rate decision by the Bank of Canada, due on Tuesday.

Elsewhere, most Asian markets ended in red, with only China closing in positive terrain. China's Shanghai Composite average rose over 2% today, recouping the 2% decline last week. The Japanese market was closed for a holiday.

Meanwhile, stocks in Europe were moving higher despite a downgrade of Ireland's public debt by a rating agency. Moody's Investors Service has downgraded its rating on Irish government bonds by one notch to Aa2 from Aa1, citing government's loss of financial strength, weaker prospects for growth in the economy and liabilities in the banking system.

On Friday, the S&P/TSX Composite Index lost 172.13 points or 1.47% to 11,569.65, erasing all the gains it made during the week.

ASIA MARKETS

Asian markets, open for trading on Monday, ended in negative territory, following weak cues from Wall Street where the major indices ended steeply lower on Friday on weak consumer sentiment index and concerns about sustaining economic recovery. The Japanese market was closed for holiday. Except the Chinese market, which ended in positive territory with a gain in excess of 2%, all the other markets ended in the red awaiting more cues from US on global economic recovery.

In Japan, the markets were closed for a holiday.

In Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 Index declined 64.40 points, or 1.46% and closed at 4,358, while the All-Ordinaries Index ended at 4,373, representing a loss of 64.30 points, or 1.45%.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index ended in negative territory with a loss of 159.21 points, or 0.79% at 20091, taking cues from other major markets trading in the region, as well as weak cues from Wall Street where the major averages ended in negative territory on Friday, following a weaker than expected consumer sentiment reading and mixed earnings reports from corporates in the first week of earnings season.

The Indian market ended a volatile session modestly lower on Monday, mirroring weakness across global markets. Sector-wise, FMCG, realty, consumer durable and oil/gas stocks came under selling pressure, while select public sector, banking, capital goods and metal stocks saw modest buying, limiting the downside. After moving in a narrow range of 18,005- 17,856, the 30-share BSE Sensex ended down 27 points or 0.15% at 17,928, with 19 of its components closing lower. The 50-share Nifty fell by about 7 points or 0.14% to 5,386.

Among the other major markets open for trading, China's Shanghai Composite Index ended in positive territory with a gain of 51.15 points, or 2.11% at 2,475. However, Taiwan's Weighted Index ended in negative territory with a loss of 14.74 points, or 0.19%, at 7650, Singapore's Strait Times Index declined 12.30 points to close at 2,945, and Indonesia's Jakarta Composite Index slipped by 16.88 points, or 0.56%, and closed at 2,976.

EUROPEAN MARKETS

The major European markets are trading higher on Monday, after recovering from their early losses. The French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index are currently rising 0.45% and 0.55%, while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is advancing 0.61%.