CLOSING MARKET REPORT
Wall Street gains as energy, tech offset bank fears

NEW YORK - US stocks rose on Wednesday as Opec's move to shore up oil prices boosted energy shares and Texas Instruments' outlook soothed fear about technology spending even as worries persisted about the health of the banking sector.

The broader market's gains came a day after the S&P 500 posted its biggest decline in a year and a half.

Energy shares rose as Opec said it would cut production, which was seen as an attempt to halt a recent sharp slide in the price of oil. Exxon Mobil rose nearly 3 per cent and was the top boost for the S&P.

Technology shares also rose on relief that chip maker Texas Instruments did not cut its earnings outlook after a spate of recent warnings on consumers' mobile phone spending.

Financial shares, however, were broadly lower after Lehman Brothers posted an unexpectedly large quarterly loss on huge mortgage-related write-downs and failed to announce any firm deals to raise desperately needed capital. Shares of Lehman, the No 4 US investment bank, sank 6.9 per cent, extending Tuesday's 45 per cent slide.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 38.19 points, or 0.34 per cent, at 11,268.92. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 7.53 points, or 0.61 per cent, at 1,232.04. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 18.89 points, or 0.85 per cent, at 2,228.70.

Source: Singapore Business Times - 11 Sep 2008