[BRIEFING.COM] Stocks are posting solid gains at midday after Hurricane Gustav did not cause any major structural damage, sparking a relief rally. Commodities, especially energy, are posting sharp declines, which is helping to ease inflation worries.

The CRB Index, which contains a basket of 19 commodities, is down 3.8%, with crude prices plummeting 5.9% to $108.65 per barrel. Other commodities posting steep declines include natural gas (-8.8%), silver (-5.9%),  and gasoline (-5.6%). The CRB Index is down 20.5% from its all-time high on July 3, and oil is down 36% from its all-time high on July 11. Still, the CRB Index is up 5.0% year-to-date and oil is up 13.3% year-to-date.

Commodity-cost sensitive stocks are rallying, while commodity producers are posting steep declines.

The consumer discretionary sector is up 3.2%, with retailers climbing 4.1% as traders speculate lower commodity prices will give consumers more discretionary income. On a related note, airlines are up 9.9% and automakers have advanced 5.9%.

Meanwhile, the energy and material sectors are down 3.7% and 1.6%, respectively. The ten worst-performing industry groups are commodity related. Some of the hardest hit areas include coal & consumable fuel (-11.0%) and diversified metal and mining (-7.0%) companies.

No notable companies released their quarterly earnings results today, so corporate news has been relatively light.

Lehman Brothers (LEH 16.59, +0.50) garnered the market's attention after Korea Development Bank confirmed that it is in talks to invest in Lehman Brothers , according to reports.

Google (GOOG 477.47, +14.18) plans to release a Web browser later today, in an attempt to capture market share from leader Microsoft (MSFT 27.58, +0.29).

In economic news, the August ISM Index, a national manufacturing survey, indicated a very slight contraction in the manufacturing sector, although it is still indicative of growth in the overall economy. Specifically, the index slipped 0.1 to 49.9, which was nearly in-line with the expected reading of 50.0. A reading below 50 reflects contraction in manufacturing. On a positive note, the prices paid index declined to 77.0 from 88.5, suggesting an easing in inflationary pressures.

Separately, July construction spending showed a continued poor trend in construction. Housing remains the weakest area in the economy, although Briefing.com expects a leveling off in the months ahead. Specifically, construction spending fell a larger-than-expected 0.6%, versus the expected 0.4% decline. However, the current level of spending is actually above estimates after the June change was revised sharply higher to +0.3% from -0.4%.