DJI - NEW YORK, Nov 27 (Reuters) - U.S.
stocks slid on Tuesday in a choppy session, losing ground in the last hour
before the close after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid expressed
disappointment that there has been "little progress" in dealing with
the "fiscal cliff."
The market was flat for most of the
session but fell sharply after Reid's comments, a signal that investors remain
skittish about the wrangling in Washington. The CBOE Volatility Index, or VIX,
rose on Reid's words.
Higher dividend and capital gains
taxes are part of the negotiations in Washington and may rise even if a deal is
crafted.
The S&P 500's modest losses on
Tuesday marked its worst day in eight sessions - indicating traders are
unwilling to sell aggressively as a deal probably would trigger a rally. The
benchmark S&P 500 once again closed below 1,400, a key psychological level
that it had reclaimed last week as it rose nearly 4 percent.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 89.24 points, or 0.69 percent, to 12,878.13 at the close. The S&P 500 dropped 7.35 points, or 0.52 percent, to finish at 1,398.94. The Nasdaq
Composite lost 8.99 points, or 0.30 percent, to end
at 2,967.79.
NYMEX - NEW YORK, Nov 27 (Reuters) - U.S.
crude oil futures fell 56 cents to $87.18 a barrel on Tuesday on concerns about
the progress of key U.S. budget talks.
CBOT Soybean - Chicago
Board of Trade soybean futures rose 1.7 percent, their biggest
daily gain in a month, on technical buying and fears that
South American production might fall short of initial expectations,
traders said.
· Strength in soyoil lends support. Most-active CBOT January soyoil hit a three-week high on recent export demand for U.S. soyoil and short-covering by funds, who hold a massive netshort position in the commodity.
· Some traders cited support from talk that China might step up soybean purchases in the coming weeks.
· Basis bids for soybeans shipped by barge to the U.S. Gulf Coast were steady to higher, supported by good demand from exporters and concerns that low water on the Mississippi River would restrict shipping in the coming weeks, traders said.
· Market lifted by concerns about threats to South American soy prospects. Excessive rain in Argentina is delaying planting of corn and soybeans, and although crop weather in Brazil is mostly satisfactory, traders are monitoring pockets of dryness in the south.
· Soybean prices are too low and do not reflect the possible risk to tight global supplies if the critical South American soybean harvest in early 2013 suffers weather damage - oilseeds analysts Oil World.
· South Korea's Major Feedmill Group bought 110,000 tonnes of soymeal likely to be sourced from South America in a tender for up to 165,000 tonnes, European traders said.
FCPO - SINGAPORE, Nov 27 (Reuters) -
Malaysian palm oil futures edged down on Tuesday, as traders booked profits
from a near one-week high after Greece's international lenders agreed on a
financial aid deal that boosted market optimism.
On the domestic front, investors are
watching Malaysian palm oil output to gauge whether stocks will reach another
record high, especially after the latest cargo surveyor data pointed to weaker
export demand.
"Demand is tepid, with rumours
that India may import on domestic shortfall. Speculators are also seen pushing
up futures amid optimism that output in the fourth quarter will avert the
looming 'supply cliff'," said a trader with a local commodities brokerage
in Malaysia.
The benchmark February contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange fell 0.9 percent to close at 2,410
ringgit ($792) per tonne, but off the day's high of 2,458 ringgit, a level last
seen on Nov. 21.
Total traded volumes stood at 35,938
lots of 25 tonnes each, higher than the usual 25,000 lots.
The market, however, expects weaker
palm oil prices to stimulate demand for price-sensitive markets such as India
and Pakistan in the next few weeks.
Palm oil stocks in China could hit
one million tonnes by year-end, up from 790,000 tonnes last week, fed by
surging imports and stagnant domestic demand, the China National Grain and Oils
Information Centre said on its website
Regional Equities - BANGKOK, Nov 27 (Reuters) -
Philippine shares posted small gains to hit a record close for the third
session on Tuesday, while Singapore and Thailand edged slightly higher amid
good buying interest in large cap telecoms and banks seen as market laggards.
The Philippine index finished at 5,586.45, topping Monday's all-time closing high of 5,579.42.
Singapore's Straits Times Index and Thai SET index both rose to a near three-week high, up 0.3
percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.
Among weak spots, Malaysia fell for a fifth session, ending down 0.6 percent at a five-month low, while
Indonesia lost 0.9 percent after Monday's 0.6 percent
gain that sent the index to a record finish of 4,375.17.
