ADRs flat, energy rises with oil

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Overseas shares traded in the United States were little changed on Monday, boosted by energy shares after a third day of violence in the Middle East raised worries that supplies of crude oil could be hurt.

U.S. crude futures settled up $2.31 or 6.13 percent at $40.02 a barrel.

Among gainers, Britain's BP Plc (BP.N) rose 1.2 percent to $44.94, while China's CNOOC Ltd (CEO.N) was up 2.9 percent at $89.69, but Royal Dutch Shell (RDSb.N) was down 1.9 percent at $49.39.

After declining more than $100 from July's record of more than $147, concerns over Middle East oil supplies were in the spotlight as Israeli aircraft attacked Hamas targets in Gaza on the third day of an offensive that has killed more than 300 Palestinians, many of them civilians.

But on the downside, the collapse of a joint venture between Kuwait and Dow Chemical (DOW.N) weighed as it fueled worries over the impact of the global credit crunch and economic slowdown. In New York, shares of Dow were down 18.1 percent at $15.50, earlier falling to their lowest since 1991.

The Bank of New York Mellon's index of leading American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) .BKADR were nearly flat, inching up 0.1 percent while the 30-share Dow Jones industrial average .DJI fell 1.2 percent.

The Bank of New York Mellon's index of leading Asian ADRs .BKAS added 0.1 percent. In Asia, shares ended mostly flat or to the upside, with oil and gas companies gaining on crude's surge.

The Bank of New York Mellon's index of leading European ADRs .BKEUR edged up 0.3 percent. In Europe, shares were lifted by banks and energy stocks.

Among gainers in the financial sector, Deutsche Bank (DB.N) rose 5.1 percent to $38.04. Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.N) was up 8.8 percent at $14.17 after saying on Sunday it was still pursuing getting rid of its insurance operations despite a newspaper report which said the bank was preparing to abandon the plan.

The FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares ended up 0.8 percent at 810.37.

Receipts with the Bank of New York Mellon's index of leading Latin American ADRs .BKLA fell 2.5 percent. Mexican stocks were lower in light holiday volume, but New York-traded shares of Cemex (CX.N) rose 1.6 percent to $9.10 after the debt-saddled cement maker said it had completed the sale of its Canary Islands operations.

(Reporting by Leah Schnurr; Editing by Tom Hals)