DJI - NEW YORK, Nov 16 (Reuters) - U.S.
stock markets ended higher on Friday on hopes that politicians would find
common ground to steer clear of the "fiscal cliff" that would hurt
the U.S. economy, while escalating tensions in the Middle East boosted oil
prices.
But shares on major markets still
posted a second consecutive weekly loss as the collective worry about the U.S.
government's fiscal problems and weak global economic growth weighed on
sentiment.
Investors have been concerned that
if no deal were reached to modify automatic spending cuts and tax hikes, the
U.S. economy could slip into recession. The S&P 500 has dropped about 4
percent over the past two weeks, in part due to these worries.
NYMEX - NEW YORK, Nov 16 (Reuters) -
Expiring U.S. December crude futures rose on Friday as the escalating conflict
between Israel and Palestinians in Gaza reinforced concerns about supply in the
Middle East and as a Gulf of Mexico energy platform fire also helped boost
prices.
CBOT SOYBEAN - U.S. soybean futures
dropped 1.3 percent to a five-month low after the world's top importer of the oilseed canceled deals
to import some U.S. supplies, traders said.
* For the week, the benchmark
Chicago Board of Trade January soybean futures contract dropped 4.7 percent,
its third straight week of declines.
- During the past three weeks, soybean prices have shed 11.4 percent.
- Chinese importers canceled
orders for about 600,000 tonnes of U.S. soybeans due to weak domestic
demand and recent price declines, the China National Grain and Oils
Information Center said.
- The U.S. Agriculture Department said on Friday morning that weekly export sales of soybeans were 585,200 tonnes, topping forecasts for 250,000 to 550,000 tonnes and up from 191,900 tonnes a week ago.
FCPO - SINGAPORE, Nov 16 (Reuters) -
Malaysian palm oil futures slipped on Friday, despite posting a weekly gain of
close to 5 percent, as traders booked profits from a large increase in the
previous session, and slowing exports squeezed prices.
"The market came down a bit as
there was some profit-taking," a trader with a foreign commodities
brokerage in Malaysia said, adding that prices seemed to be trading in a broad
range of 2,300 to 2,500 ringgit. "Exports were also down and that could be
another reason."
Exports of Malaysian palm oil
products for Nov. 1 to 15 fell 0.1 percent to 769,087 tonnes from 769,534
tonnes for the Oct. 1-15 period, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said
on Friday.
That came as a disappointment after
exports rose as much as 22 percent for the Nov. 1-10 period from a month ago,
although some traders traced the slowdown to a slew of holidays this week.
Market players are also closely
monitoring a French proposal of a fourfold tax increase on palm oil in food,
which stirred opposition from foodmakers and industry groups in top producers
Indonesia and Malaysia.
Regional Equties - Nov 15 (Reuters) - Thai stocks
recovered from a seven-week low on Friday while other major Southeast Asian
stock markets ended weaker-to-flat as global economic concerns led by the U.S.
'fiscal cliff' and the eurozone debt crisis weighed on the region's risky
assets.
