For important disclosures refer to last page
International Morning News
Monday, 15 September 2008
Market Commentary: Most U.S. stocks gained ground on Friday as higher gasoline and metal prices lifted commodity pro-
ducers, overshadowing concern that the government will balk at funding a bailout of Lehman Brothers Holdings. Valero En-
ergy and Tesoro gained ground as Hurricane Ike's progress toward Texas pushed up gasoline. Freeport-McMoRan Copper &
Gold and Newmont Mining also rose as copper jumped the most in 3 weeks and gold snapped a 9-day losing streak as a
weaker dollar revived demand for metals as an alternative investment. On the other hand, American International Group de-
clined on concern it will be the next major financial company to face a capital shortage. Lehman also declined leading fin-
nancial companies in the S&P 500 to a 1%drop as CEO Richard Fuld courted buyers for the investment bank amid signs that
the U.S. government may not provide the funding that enabled Bear Stearns to sell itself and avoid bankruptcy. On the mac-
roeconomic front, a report showed confidence among U.S. consumers climbed more than estimated this month as a drop in
gasoline prices provided relief from rising unemployment and tumbling home values. The S&P 500 rose 0.21% and the
Nasdaq gained 0.14%, while the Dow Jones lost 0.10%. European stocks advanced for the 1st time in 4 days on Friday as
speculation Lehman Brothers Holdings will find a buyer lifted banks and rising metals prices sent commodity producers
higher. UBS and Barclays led the advance among financial shares. BHP Billiton rallied as copper increased. SAS Group
jumped after the biggest Nordic airline said it's “evaluating various structural possibilities'' for the carrier's future. Total and
Eni led gains by energy producers as oil rebounded from a 5-month low to $102.89 a barrel. ITV also rallied as Mediaset reit-
erated interest in the U.K.'s biggest commercial broadcast. Around Europe, the CAC 40 gained 1.97%, the DAX added 0.91%
and the FT