(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-11-20 09:18

Lowe's Cos. posted a 10 percent decline in third-quarter profit Monday, slightly better than expected. But the home-improvement retailer lowered its forecast in anticipation of further deterioration in housing. Lowe's fell $1.89, or 7.6 percent, to $23.12.

Celgene Corp.'s announcement that it agreed to buy Pharmion Corp. for $72 a share in a cash-and-stock deal worth $2.9 billion failed to lighten the overall mood on Wall Street. Celgene fell 90 cents to $64, while Pharmion jumped $15.84, or 32 percent, to $65.12.

Meanwhile, other sectors that could be bruised by an economic slowdown fell Monday. Delta Air Lines Inc. fell 96 cents, or 4.8 percent, to $19.01, while Continental Airlines Inc. fell $1.76, or 6 percent, to $27.82.

The decline in the airlines helped push the Dow Jones Transportation index down 105.87, or 2.32 percent, to 4,457.97. The index also hit a fresh 52-week low.

Among homebuilders, Lennar Corp. fell $1.67, or 8.7 percent, to $17.57 and hit a new 52-week low of $17.54. Its previous low was $18.90. Pulte Homes Inc. fell $1.04, or 8.1 percent, to $11.80. It likewise sank to a 52-week low of $11.76; the previous low was $12.15.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by 5 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 4.01 billion shares, compared with 4 billion traded Friday.

Stock markets overseas also slumped. In European trading, Britain's FTSE 100 closed down 2.71 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 1.32 percent, and France's CAC-40 slid 1.65 percent. In Asian trading, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 0.74 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index decreased 0.56 percent.

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