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AP
Monday September 24, 11:57 am ET

Shares of Mortgage Lenders Mixed in Wake of Interest-Rate Cut, Wall Street's Earnings

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of mortgage lenders were mixed Monday as the market tried to digest last week's interest-rate cut and Wall Street's earnings reports.

The Federal Reserve last week cut its target for interest rates to 4.75 percent from 5.25 percent, which many market watchers expected to lure buyers back into troubled mortgage financing markets.

The interest-rate cut coincided with earnings reports from Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., Morgan Stanley and Bear Stearns Cos. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley topped estimates, while Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers missed.

In midday trading, shares of Countrywide Financial Corp. lost 11 cents to $19.50. Shares of IndyMac Bancorp lost 85 cents, or 3.6 percent, to $22.55. Shares of NovaStar Financial Inc. gained 54 cents, or 6.2 percent, to $9.21. Shares of Thornburg Mortgage Inc. fell 26 cents, or 2 percent, to $13.12.