Monday, October 12, 2009

Trader's Highlight

DJI - NEW YORK, Oct 9 - U.S. stocks climbed on Friday, with the Dow hitting a closing high for 2009, as investors anticipated positive news from next week's key earnings reports and bullish broker comments boosted tech shares.

U.S. stocks achieved their best weekly gains since July and snapped a two-week losing streak. The five-day rally pushed the Dow Jones industrial average up 4 percent for the week, while the Standard & Poor's 500 advanced 4.5 percent and the Nasdaq
gained 4.5 percent.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended up 78.07 points, or 0.80 percent, at 9,864.94. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 6.01 points, or 0.56 percent, to 1,071.49. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 15.35 points, or 0.72 percent, to 2,139.28.

NYMEX - On the New York Mercantile Exchange, November crude settled up 8 cents, or 0.11 percent, at $71.77 a barrel, trading from $70.62 to $72.24.

CBOT - SOYBEANS
- CBOT November up 28 cents per bushel at $9.64.
Support from USDA's October crop report that showed a lower-than-expected 2009 U.S. soybean crop. Also, support from excessive wet weather including flooding and forecasts for a freeze by the weekend in the U.S. harvest region.

CBOT - SOYOIL - CBOT December up 0.63 cent per lb at 34.91 cents per lb. Spillover support from rallying soybeans.

FCPO - JAKARTA, Oct 9 - Malaysian crude palm oil futures closed up 2.7 percent on Friday, as investors rushed to cover short positions in late trade on speculation of higher exports for the first 10 days of the month, traders said.
The market has previously anticipated that cargo surveyors' reports due out Monday would show weaker exports this month, partly due to a long holiday in China, a top buyer of vegetable oils.
"We heard rumours that exports are at 339,195 tonnes, or 8.3 percent higher (from Sept. 1-10)," a trader at a Kuala Lumpur-based brokerage said.
Another Malayasian trader said the rumour of stronger exports was the only reason to buy.
The benchmark December contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivative Exchange settled up 55 ringgit at 2,085 ringgit ($613.87) a tonne. Trade volumes were at 13,723 lots of 25 tonnes each.

REGIONAL EQUITIES
- BANGKOK, Oct 9 - Southeast Asian stock markets were mixed on Friday, with Malaysia and Thailand seeing modest gains on buying in financials such as CIMB and Bangkok Bank, while Singapore inched up with Singapore Airlines leading the way.

Malaysia's index added 0.3 percent, with CIMB Group up 0.8 percent following an earnings upgrade by broker TA, while Thailand ended up 0.4 percent, led by a 1.5
percent gain in the biggest bank, Bangkok Bank.

Singapore's index gained 0.06 percent, with Singapore Airlines up 2.5 percent after Morgan Stanley upgraded its recommendation on the carrier to "overweight",
citing a possible global economic recovery in 2010 which would boost premium travel.