Business news for Mon, 24 Dec 2007 & with words gains+stocks. 12 news.

AP - Wall Street advanced sharply Monday, boosted by news that Merrill Lynch & Co. will receive an investment of up to $6.2 billion from two investment groups. The Dow Jones industrial average rose nearly 100 points.

ASIAN stocks rose for a second day, led by electronics makers, after consumer spending increased more than forecast in the United States, the region's biggest export market. Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, maker of iPods for Apple Inc, and Samsung Electronics Co climbed to the highest in more than a week. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index advanced the most in three weeks last Friday after the report on November spending eased concern about recession in the world's biggest economy. "US shares showed firm gains, and we're seeing the influence in shares today (yesterday)," said Kim Jae Dong, who oversees the equivalent of US$8.6 billion at Korea Investment Trust Management Co in Seoul. BHP Billiton Ltd led an increase among miners after metals prices climbed, and a UK regulator set a deadline for a formal takeover bid for Rio Tinto Group. The MSCI Asia Pacific, excluding Japan Index, rose two percent to 524.1 as of 3:38pm in Hong Kong, with all 10 industry groups climbing.

Stocks held gains Monday afternoon as news from Merrill Lynch helped boost the financial sector and an upbeat retail sales report suggested consumer confidence is stronger than expected.

FT.com - Wall Street stocks rose on Monday after Merrill Lynch announced a capital injection of up to $6.2bn, spurring a rally in financial stocks at the start of an abbreviated Christmas-Eve trading session.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Airline stocks took an early turn into positive territory Monday, led by 3% gains for American Airlines parent AMR Corp. and US Airways Group . The Amex Airlines Index was ahead 1.5% in early trades at 37.04 points, drawing strength from lower fuel prices to outpace a 0.6% rise in the broader equities market. Volume is likely to be light in the shortened pre-holiday session, which wraps it all up ahead of Christmas at 1 p.m. Eastern Time.

Futures point slightly higher for the holiday-shortened session.

Earnings outlooks for Siemens and ABB signal outsized stock price gains in 2008.

Wall Street advanced sharply Monday, boosted by news that Merrill Lynch & Co. will receive an investment of up to $6.2 billion from two investment groups. The Dow Jones industrial average rose nearly 100 points.

Asian stocks started the week on an upbeat note with Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 tilting higher in a shortened pre-Christmas session as investors bought resource shares after metals prices firmed Friday. In South Korean shares also were higher, led by gains for Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering.

DOMESTIC stocks climbed and pushed the Shanghai index to a nine-day high in the morning session today, buoyed by rising blue chips across the board. The Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks yuan-denominated A shares and hard-currency B shares, jumped 1.37 percent, or 69.87 points, to 5,171.65 at 11:30am today. The Shanghai index opened at 5,132.91 at 9:30am today, 31.13 points higher than its close at 5,101.78 at 3pm last Friday. Gains in the Shanghai market outnumbered losses 717 to 48 and 81 were unchanged. The Shenzhen Composite Index, which covers the smaller mainland stock market, gained 2.09 percent, or 28.72 points, to 1,404.61. Copper stocks rose thanks to rising copper prices. Tongling Nonferrous Metals, China's biggest copper producer, advanced 1.97 percent, or 0.48 yuan (6 US cents), to 24.82 yuan. Jiangxi Copper Co, the second-biggest, added 3.32 percent, or 1.67 yuan, to 51.99 yuan. Yunnan Copper Industry Co, the third-largest, climbed 2.94 percent, or 1.15

Asian stock markets gave investors a white-knuckle ride in 2007 but most are up sharply and analysts predict turbulent gains next year despite a severe U.S. financial crisis.

Asian shares ended broadly higher in pre-Christmas trading, as property stocks gave Hong Kong's benchmark index a lift, while miners led gains in Australia. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday.