Friday, March 27, 2009

Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, March 26 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rallied for a second straight day on Thursday, taking the Nasdaq back into positive territory for the year-to-date, on increasing optimism that the economy's worst days are behind after the government
reported data that was less dire than expected.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> jumped 174.75 points, or 2.25 percent, to 7,924.56. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> spiked 18.98 points, or 2.33 percent, to 832.86. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> surged 58.05 points, or 3.80
percent, to 1,587.00.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, March 26 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures ended up nearly 3 percent on Thursday, spurred on by Wall Street, where investors bet that economic troubles may be abating.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, May crude settled up $1.57, or 2.98 percent, at $54.34 a barrel, trading from $52.76 to $54.66, a new 2009 peak. It was also the highest settlement since Nov. 28, when prices closed at $54.43, with the day's high also the highest since that day.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - May down 7 cents at $9.44 a bushel.

Fears that China may release some soybeans it has been holding in reserve weighs on market in addition to optimism the Argentine farmer strike will end this weekend.

Census Bureau said U.S. February soy crush 135.60 million bushels, above average trade estimate for 134.9 million.

CBOT-SOYOIL
- May up 0.23 cent at 33.60 cents a lb. Gains in crude oil supportive.

Census Bureau said U.S. February soyoil stocks 3.027 billion lbs., below average trade estimate for 3.036 billion.

FCPO
-KUALA LUMPUR, March 26 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures climbed 3.19 percent on Thursday, snapping a two-day losing streak as investors re-entered the market on the back of higher crude oil prices and recovering shipments, traders said.

At the close, the benchmark June contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose 63 ringgit to 2,035 ringgit ($561.7) per tonne. Other traded months gained between 25 and 71 ringgit <#KPO:>. Overall volumes stood at 15,507 lots of 25 tonnes each.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, March 26 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stocks were higher on Thursday as better U.S. economic data offered tentative signs that a recovery might be near, sending both Singapore and the Philippines to multi-week highs.

Regional shares followed Wall Street and other Asian bourses higher, but analysts remained cautious. Singapore's Straits Times Index <.FTSTI> led gainers, closing
up almost 4 percent.

In Kuala Lumpur, the index rose for a second day to close up 0.8 percent, lifted by a 6.8 percent gain in Resort World Bhd . Gamuda , the second-largest builder, ended up 4.1 percent after hitting a more than one-month high.