DJI- NEW YORK, March 27 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks retreated from near four-year peaks on Tuesday, while a batch of large-cap shares hit new highs, with the help of portfolio managers snapping up top performers near the end of the quarter.
With the first quarter ending on Friday, portfolio managers adjusted holdings by buying some of the best performers to dress up their portfolios. A total of 175 stocks on the New York Stock Exchange hit new 52-week highs on Tuesday, including Dow components Home Depotand International Business Machines , along with high-end retailers.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> shed 43.90 points, or 0.33 percent, to close at 13,197.73. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> dropped 3.99 points, or 0.28 percent, to 1,412.52. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> dipped 2.22 points, or 0.07 percent, to 3,120.35.
NYMEX- NEW YORK, March 27 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures edged higher on Tuesday in tug-of-war trading as investors factored increasing concerns about supply disruptions against the likelihood of a release of strategic oil reserves to cap rising fuel costs.
Prices for both U.S. and Brent crude edged higher on reports of production problems in the North Sea and South Sudan. This added to persistent fears about potential disruption of supply from Iran as Tehran and the West spar over the OPEC nation's
nuclear program.
Crude prices turned negative after a Bloomberg report quoted Charles McConnell, assistant secretary for fossil energy at the U.S. Energy Department, as saying a release from reserves "is being considered."
A U.S. government official told Reuters the Obama administration had not changed its stance on tapping the reserves or other options under consideration to help cool fuel prices.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, May cruderose 30 cents, or 0.28 percent, to settle at $107.33 a barrel, having traded from $106.52 to $107.73. Prices dipped in post-settlement trading after the API data.
CBOT SOYBEANS- Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures fell as investors locked in profits following the market's rally to a six-month peak earlier in the week, traders said.
Benchmark May contract remained above all key moving averages despite Tuesday's decline.
Prospects for good export demand for U.S. supplies due to crop shortfalls in South America limited the drop in the futures market.
FCPO-SINGAPORE, March 27 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures hit a more-than-one-year high on Tuesday as traders bet on strong export growth after droughts had damaged the South American soy harvest that is crushed into competing soyoil.
Worries about soybean crop damage in Brazil can potentially boost demand for palm oil and has upped the stakes in the unfolding U.S acreage battle between soy and corn with a key U.S. government report due to be released on Friday.
Comments by leading analyst Dorab Mistry at a conference in China that palm oil will rise to 4,000 ringgit by end-June also pushed prices higher.
Benchmark June palm oil futureson the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange inched up 0.6 percent to close at 3,481 ringgit ($1,139) per tonne after going as high as 3,497 ringgit, a level unseen since last March.
Traded volumes stood at over 21,026 lots of 25 tonnes each, lighter than the usual 25,000 lots.
REGIONAL EQUITY- BANGKOK, March 27 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets
gained on Tuesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke signaled ultra-loose monetary policy would continue.
Foreign investors bought shares in Indonesia and Malaysia with a net inflow of $54.4 million and $105.1 million respectively on Tuesday.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Monday made clear that the central bank is in no rush to reverse its ultra-loose monetary policy after responding aggressively to a deep recession.
With the first quarter ending on Friday, portfolio managers adjusted holdings by buying some of the best performers to dress up their portfolios. A total of 175 stocks on the New York Stock Exchange hit new 52-week highs on Tuesday, including Dow components Home Depot
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> shed 43.90 points, or 0.33 percent, to close at 13,197.73. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> dropped 3.99 points, or 0.28 percent, to 1,412.52. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> dipped 2.22 points, or 0.07 percent, to 3,120.35.
NYMEX- NEW YORK, March 27 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures edged higher on Tuesday in tug-of-war trading as investors factored increasing concerns about supply disruptions against the likelihood of a release of strategic oil reserves to cap rising fuel costs.
Prices for both U.S. and Brent crude edged higher on reports of production problems in the North Sea and South Sudan. This added to persistent fears about potential disruption of supply from Iran as Tehran and the West spar over the OPEC nation's
nuclear program.
Crude prices turned negative after a Bloomberg report quoted Charles McConnell, assistant secretary for fossil energy at the U.S. Energy Department, as saying a release from reserves "is being considered."
A U.S. government official told Reuters the Obama administration had not changed its stance on tapping the reserves or other options under consideration to help cool fuel prices.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, May crude
CBOT SOYBEANS- Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures fell as investors locked in profits following the market's rally to a six-month peak earlier in the week, traders said.
Benchmark May contract remained above all key moving averages despite Tuesday's decline.
Prospects for good export demand for U.S. supplies due to crop shortfalls in South America limited the drop in the futures market.
FCPO-SINGAPORE, March 27 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures hit a more-than-one-year high on Tuesday as traders bet on strong export growth after droughts had damaged the South American soy harvest that is crushed into competing soyoil.
Worries about soybean crop damage in Brazil can potentially boost demand for palm oil and has upped the stakes in the unfolding U.S acreage battle between soy and corn with a key U.S. government report due to be released on Friday.
Comments by leading analyst Dorab Mistry at a conference in China that palm oil will rise to 4,000 ringgit by end-June also pushed prices higher.
Benchmark June palm oil futures
Traded volumes stood at over 21,026 lots of 25 tonnes each, lighter than the usual 25,000 lots.
REGIONAL EQUITY- BANGKOK, March 27 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets
gained on Tuesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke signaled ultra-loose monetary policy would continue.
Foreign investors bought shares in Indonesia and Malaysia with a net inflow of $54.4 million and $105.1 million respectively on Tuesday.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Monday made clear that the central bank is in no rush to reverse its ultra-loose monetary policy after responding aggressively to a deep recession.
