NEW YORK (AP) - Alcoa Inc. recorded the largest gain on the Standard &
Poor's 500 on Monday, helping lift the index to a higher close after wavering
during the session.
The S&P 500 added 1.08 to 1,361.76, as crude prices dipped, but only after
Friday's surge to a new record. The broad market index moved back and forth
between positive and negative territory during the session.
Aluminum maker Alcoa rose $2.95, or 7.5 percent, to $42.17 on heavy volume.
A report in Barron's over the weekend discussed the possibility of a takeover of
the company.
Oil and gas driller Ensco International Inc. advanced $4.87, or 6.6 percent,
to $79.27.
Independent oil and gas company Apache Corp. gained $8.09, or 6 percent, to
$141.99.
On the losing side, financial stocks took the biggest hit, after Lehman
Brothers Holdings Inc. forecast a second-quarter loss and Wall Street worried
about further losses among others in the sector due to the mortgage and credit
crisis.
Washington Mutual Inc. dropped $1.28, or 17 percent, to $6.25. A UBS analyst
predicted additional credit losses for the bank through 2011. During the
session, shares hit $6.05, their lowest point since 1992.
Bond insurer Ambac Financial Group Inc. lost 24 cents, or 10.2 percent, to
$2.11. The stock hit an all-time low of $2.02 during the session. Fellow bond
insurer, MBIA Inc., declined 55 cents, or 10.1 percent, to $4.89, after hitting
$4.78, their lowest point since early 1988. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services
slashed ratings on 799 classes of asset-backed securities backed by MBIA and
Ambac.
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