New York  - US stocks made small gains on Friday, led by energy and metals companies, but were held down by ongoing fears about the future of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.

Hurricane Ike's anticipated arrival on the US mainland drove up petrol prices, helping refiners make strong gains.

The price of copper surged while gold ended a nine-day string of losses. Shares in metals giant Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold Inc jumped more than 8 per cent.

Lehman lost another 14 per cent of its share price as the troubled investment bank continued looking for a potential buyer. Lehman's shares have tumbled 94 per cent since the beginning of the year as the credit crisis has ravaged the US financial sector.

Media reports said the government was aiding the search for a buyer but was unlikely to fund another bailout. Bank of America Corp was said to be the leading contender for a takeover.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 11.72 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 11,421.99. But the broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 2.65 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 1,251.70. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index gained 3.05 points, or 0.14 per cent, to 2,261.27.

The US currency fell to 70.30 euro cents from 71.24 euro cents on Thursday, its sharpest one-day drop in two years after touching a one-year high in trading the day before. The dollar rose against the Japanese currency to 107.94 yen from 107.28 yen on Thursday.

Crude oil for October delivery edged up 31 cents to 101.18 dollars per barrel. Gold climbed 19 dollars to 764.50 dollars per fine ounce. (dpa)