Stocks fell and metals declined as copper inventories rose for a 16th day, fanning concern the global economy won’t grow fast enough to justify current valuations. The MSCI World Index of 23 developed nations dropped 0.3 percent at 11:49 a.m. in London, the biggest slide in two weeks. Copper slipped for a second day, losing 1.4 percent, and lead retreated 3.7 percent. The pound weakened against the euro and the dollar after Lloyds Banking Group Plc said it may exit a government program to insure risky assets. “The market is running out of steam,” said Marc Ostwald, a London-based fixed-income strategist at Monument Securities Ltd., a broker for banks and investors. “We are becoming more optimistic with the economic outlook but this bullish sentiment may be premature.” Concern that Lloyds needs to do more to clean up its balance sheet and a debt-rescheduling plan announced by Japan’s Aiful Corp. revived speculation that financial institutions have yet to recover from the $1.6 trillion in losses and writedowns sparked by the seizure in credit markets. Stockpiles of copper, used in everything from pipes to wiring, rose for their longest streak since January. Raw-material producers led the decline in the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index of European shares, which slipped 0.2 percent. A 56 percent increase since March 9 has driven valuations on the regional gauge to 47.7 times profit, the highest level since 2003, weekly Bloomberg data show. BHP, Lonmin BHP Billiton Ltd. the world’s biggest mining company, slipped 0.3 percent in London. Lonmin Plc, the world’s third- largest platinum producer, retreated 2.5 percent. Lloyds declined as much as 4.1 percent in London before trimming its drop to 1.1 percent. The U.K.’s biggest mortgage lender said for the first time in a statement today that it may withdraw from the government program to insure 260 billion pounds ($424 billion) of its risky assets. Lloyds has yet to persuade the government that it has adequate capital to change the asset insurance agreement reached in March, people familiar with the situation said Sept. 11. The pound fell against 13 of the 16 most-traded currencies, weakening to 90 pence per euro for the first time since May. Aiful, Japan’s third-largest consumer lender by revenue, was untraded, with shares offered lower by 27 percent, as the company sought to reschedule debt payments after being shut out of credit markets. Takefuji Corp., Japan’s fourth-biggest consumer lender by revenue, fell 9.5 percent. Copper, Lead Copper inventories monitored by the London Metal Exchange climbed 1 percent to 327,700 metric tons, the highest level since May. Including stockpiles in Shanghai and New York, there’s enough metal for 9.3 days of consumption, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Copper prices in London slid $90 a ton to $6,295 a ton. Lead posted its biggest decline in a week, falling $83 to $2,193 a ton. The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. one year ago exacerbated the credit crisis and sent the MSCI World Index down as much as 59 percent from an October 2007 record through March 9, 2009. The global stocks gauge is still down 32 percent from its all-time high. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures expiring in December were little changed, after dropping as much as 0.6 percent earlier. The S&P 500 has jumped 57 percent since March, leaving stocks the most expensive compared with earnings in five years. Options Expirations Price swings and trading volume may be greater than average today because futures and options on indexes and stocks are due to expire. China’s Shanghai Composite Index led stock declines worldwide, falling 3.2 percent, while Jiangxi Copper Co., China’s biggest producer of the metal, dropped 5.1 percent. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index declined from its highest level in more than a year, slipping 0.3 percent. Hungary’s BUX Index retreated 1 percent and Russia’s Micex index lost 0.3 percent.

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