Shares of building materials suppliers fall

RBC Capital Markets analyst Paul C. Quinn downgraded Louisiana-Pacific Corp. to "Underperform" from "Sector Perform," citing "the end of the traditional building season in September and continued uncertainty in U.S. housing and credit markets (which) are likely to lower future (oriented strand board) prices."

The analyst also said Louisiana-Pacific's share price has "rocketed up almost 40 percent from the recent low of $8.13 only four weeks ago."

Hurricane Ike offered little support for building materials suppliers, largely because the full effect of the storm will not be felt until perhaps 12 months from now, Frost & Sullivan analyst Konkana Khaund said.

Meanwhile, the broader stock market tumbled and Treasury bond prices soared Monday as investors reacted to a stunning reshaping of the landscape of Wall Street that took out two storied names: Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 300 points, though the market's initial losses were not as steep as some investors had feared.

Stocks posted big losses in markets across much of the globe as investors absorbed bankruptcy plans at Lehman and Merrill Lynch's forced sale to Bank of America for $50 billion in stock. And perhaps most ominously, American International Group Inc. is asking the Federal Reserve for emergency funding. The world's largest insurance company plans to announce a major restructuring Monday.

Shares of Louisiana-Pacific fell 81 cents, or 7.2 percent, to $10.52, Boise Inc. fell 8 cents, or 3.3 percent, to $3.32 and USG Corp. declined 81 cents, or 2.7 percent, to $28.99.