Opening Bell Report

The markets opened lower as home prices tumbled while foreclosures more than doubled from year-ago levels.  The Dow lost 46 points to 12,824 as Nasdaq dropped 8 points to 2415.

On the upside

Profits at MasterCard (NYSE: MA) more than doubled as global demand for its credit card services offset weakness in the U.S. market.

European-based Royal Dutch Shell PLC (NYSE: RDS-B) posted surging profits due to increases in oil prices.

Corning (NYSE: GLW) reported profits that more than tripled due to strong demand for glass used in flat-screen TVs and computers.

On the downside

Shares of Merck (NYSE: MRK) plunged after the FDA issued a "not approvable" letter for its cholestrol drug candidate.  The Dow component dragged down the index.

Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DB) wrote down $4.2 billion in the 1st quarter to post its first quarterly loss since 2003.

Fair Issac (NYSE: FIC) reported flat revenues and lower profits as competitors launched a competing credit scoring system.

In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 5 to 4 on the NYSE and by 4 to 3 on Nasdaq.  The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks lost 3 points to 721.