Monday, June 13, 2011

Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, June 10 (Reuters) - The Dow and S&P 500 closed out their sixth week of losses on Friday as further signs of a global economic slowdown set the stage for more losses ahead.

The deepening gloom raised the prospect for the S&P, which suffered its worst week since August 2010, to break below the year's low of 1,250 next week.

The Nasdaq wiped out its yearly gains on Friday and also posted its biggest weekly decline since August 2010, as the latest deterioration in sentiment came on fear of flagging Chinese growth and fresh worries about Greece's debt crisis.

The Dow closed below 12,000 for the first time since mid-March. Reflecting the bearish sentiment, options traders eyed calls on the CBOE Volatility Index <.VIX>, Wall Street's so-called fear gauge, which moves inversely to the S&P 500's performance. The VIX rose 6.1 percent to end at 18.86.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> fell 172.45 points, or 1.42 percent, to 11,951.91. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> slid 18.02 points, or 1.40 percent, to 1,270.98. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> tumbled 41.14 points, or 1.53 percent, to 2,643.73 at the close.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, June 10 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures fell on Friday, closing lower for a second week on news that Saudi Arabia was offering more oil to Asian refiners and on a report it would jack up daily production in July.

The dollar strengthened against the euro, also pressuring crude as it prompted oil investors to shed riskier assets.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude for July delivery settled at $99.29a barrel, down $2.64, or 2.59 percent, after trading between $98.60 and $102.15.

CBOT-SOYBEANS-Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures closed lower on lingering pressure from bearish soybean stocks data released by the USDA in its June supply/demand report.

End-of-week position-squaring was noted, with further weight on soy from a firm dollar and lower crude oil.

FCPO-JAKARTA, June 10 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil extended losses late on Friday, flirting with one-month lows on a flurry of bearish data weighed on prices.

The benchmark August crude palm oil contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange fell more than 1 percent at one point to 3,231 Malaysian ringgit($1,069) a tonne.

Prices, which hit a one-month low at 3,213 ringgit on Thursday, closed at 3,239 and have shed more than 5 percent this week.

Traded volume for the benchmark month stood at 15,153 lots of 25 tonnes each, versus a two-week high at 15,813 lots on Thursday.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-COLOMBO, June 10 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets closed narrowly mixed on Friday in light volume, with foreign outflows sending all the main bourses down on the week because of worries about global economic growth, plus political concerns in Thailand.

Appetite for risk was also reduced by continued EU debt problems and although some regional markets recovered ground in thin trade on Friday, analysts say they are running out of steam due to the gloomy global outlook.

Despite a 0.4 percent bounce back on Friday, Thailand <.SETI> fell 3.5 percent on the week, its worst performance since February.

Singapore <.FTSTI> lost 0.6 percent on the day, Indonesia <.JKSE> 0.5 percent and the Philippines 0.1 percent, but Malaysia <.KLSE> edged up 0.3 percent. All were lower on the week.