DJI-NEW YORK, March 6 (Reuters) - The Dow dropped more than 200 points on Tuesday, handing Wall Street its worst day in three months on renewed fears of a disorderly default in Greece and concerns that China's slowdown would hit global growth.
Analysts have expected a pullback for weeks, citing an overstretched market. Despite the day's decline, the S&P 500 is still up almost 7 percent for the year. If fourth-quarter gains are included, the benchmark index is still up almost 20 percent since Sept. 30.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> slid 203.66 points, or 1.57 percent, to close at 12,759.15. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> dropped 20.97 points, or 1.54 percent, to 1,343.36. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> fell 40.16 points, or 1.36 percent, to end at 2,910.32.
NYMEX-NEW YORK, March 6 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures fell nearly 2 percent on Tuesday as global economic worries and concerns about Greece's debt restructuring pushed the euro lower against the dollar, diminishing investors' appetite for oil and other commodities as well as equities.
News that major powers accepted Iran's offer for talks about its disputed nuclear program eased concerns about supply disruptions, and that also pressured crude futures.
Gasoline and heating oil futures fell nearly 3.0 cents, or almost 1 percent, dragged down by crude. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude for April deliverysettled at $104.70 a barrel, falling $2.02, or 1.89 percent, after trading between $104.51 and $107.34. Trading volume was slightly above the 30-day average, Reuters data showed.
CBOT SOYBEANS- Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade closed higher, rallying from early declines on unconfirmed talk of Chinese demand for U.S. soybeans and reduced estimates for Brazil's crop, traders said.
Soymeal posted the biggest percentage gains in the soy complex, buoyed by chart-based buying and spreading against soyoil, which closed lower. Spot soymeal has risen in nine of the last 10 sessions while soyoil has fallen for six straight
days.
Hamburg-based oilseeds analyst Oil World cut its forecast of Brazil's 2012 soybean crop by 1.5 million tonnes to 68 million tonnes because of drought.
Argentine dock workers are still on strike, preventing 150 grain ships from mooring in the country's main shipping hub of Rosario, a union official said.
Soy market shrugged at strength in the U.S. dollar, normally a bearish signal for dollar-backed grains and oilseeds.
The dollar firmed as worries over euro zone debt and the global
FCPO- KUALA LUMPUR, March 6 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures fell for a third day on Tuesday, on signs of a wider correction in the market that traders say went up too high last month, although losses were curbed ahead of a key price outlook meeting in Kuala Lumpur.
Prices rose more than six percent in February alone, setting the stage for upbeat price outlooks at the Bursa Malaysia conference, although some traders said still high stocks and an uncertain global economic outlook did not justify the gains.
"The palm oil market is overbought and there should be a greater correction coming in," a trader with a foreign commodities brokerage said at the sidelines of the conference.
Benchmark May palm oil futureson the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange ended 0.1 percent lower at 3,242 ringgit ($1,072) per tonne. Traded volumes were thin, at 12,476 lots of 25 tonnes each,compared to the usual 25,000 lots, as most dealers were attending the palm oil conference.
REGIONAL EQUITY- BANGKOK, March 6 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stocks fell on Tuesday, with Singapore hitting a one-month low, as concerns about the health of the global economy weighed on market sentiment, prompting investors to take profits on recent gains in regional big caps.
Singapore's Straits Times Index <.FTSTI> finished down 2 percent, weighed down by a 4.6 percent drop in commodities firm Noble Group Ltdand a 6.3 percent slide in oil-rig builder Sembcorp Marine Ltd .
Sembcorp Marine had climbed nearly 35 percent in the three months to Monday's close, while Noble had risen over 13 percent as global investors' appetite for riskier assets revived.
In Kuala Lumpur, Malayan Banking Bhdedged up 0.2 percent, rebounding from its day's low. In Bangkok, Thanachart Capital Pcl rose 3.5 percent amid earnings optimism while top energy firm PTT Pcl lost 1.4 percent.
In Singapore, Sembcorp Marine tumbled after state investor Temasek sold part of its stake in the firm at a discount of 2.75 percent to its last closing price.
Analysts have expected a pullback for weeks, citing an overstretched market. Despite the day's decline, the S&P 500 is still up almost 7 percent for the year. If fourth-quarter gains are included, the benchmark index is still up almost 20 percent since Sept. 30.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> slid 203.66 points, or 1.57 percent, to close at 12,759.15. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> dropped 20.97 points, or 1.54 percent, to 1,343.36. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> fell 40.16 points, or 1.36 percent, to end at 2,910.32.
NYMEX-NEW YORK, March 6 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures fell nearly 2 percent on Tuesday as global economic worries and concerns about Greece's debt restructuring pushed the euro lower against the dollar, diminishing investors' appetite for oil and other commodities as well as equities.
News that major powers accepted Iran's offer for talks about its disputed nuclear program eased concerns about supply disruptions, and that also pressured crude futures.
Gasoline and heating oil futures fell nearly 3.0 cents, or almost 1 percent, dragged down by crude. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude for April delivery
CBOT SOYBEANS- Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade closed higher, rallying from early declines on unconfirmed talk of Chinese demand for U.S. soybeans and reduced estimates for Brazil's crop, traders said.
Soymeal posted the biggest percentage gains in the soy complex, buoyed by chart-based buying and spreading against soyoil, which closed lower. Spot soymeal has risen in nine of the last 10 sessions while soyoil has fallen for six straight
days.
Hamburg-based oilseeds analyst Oil World cut its forecast of Brazil's 2012 soybean crop by 1.5 million tonnes to 68 million tonnes because of drought.
Argentine dock workers are still on strike, preventing 150 grain ships from mooring in the country's main shipping hub of Rosario, a union official said.
Soy market shrugged at strength in the U.S. dollar, normally a bearish signal for dollar-backed grains and oilseeds.
The dollar firmed as worries over euro zone debt and the global
FCPO- KUALA LUMPUR, March 6 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures fell for a third day on Tuesday, on signs of a wider correction in the market that traders say went up too high last month, although losses were curbed ahead of a key price outlook meeting in Kuala Lumpur.
Prices rose more than six percent in February alone, setting the stage for upbeat price outlooks at the Bursa Malaysia conference, although some traders said still high stocks and an uncertain global economic outlook did not justify the gains.
"The palm oil market is overbought and there should be a greater correction coming in," a trader with a foreign commodities brokerage said at the sidelines of the conference.
Benchmark May palm oil futures
REGIONAL EQUITY- BANGKOK, March 6 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stocks fell on Tuesday, with Singapore hitting a one-month low, as concerns about the health of the global economy weighed on market sentiment, prompting investors to take profits on recent gains in regional big caps.
Singapore's Straits Times Index <.FTSTI> finished down 2 percent, weighed down by a 4.6 percent drop in commodities firm Noble Group Ltd
Sembcorp Marine had climbed nearly 35 percent in the three months to Monday's close, while Noble had risen over 13 percent as global investors' appetite for riskier assets revived.
In Kuala Lumpur, Malayan Banking Bhd
In Singapore, Sembcorp Marine tumbled after state investor Temasek sold part of its stake in the firm at a discount of 2.75 percent to its last closing price.
