DJI- NEW YORK, Dec 14 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Friday as another slide in Apple took a toll and investors unloaded some shares because of the uncertainty surrounding the "fiscal cliff" negotiations.
For the Nasdaq, this marked the second losing week in a row. All three major U.S. stock indexes ended the week slightly lower.
Apple's AAPL.O stock slid 3.8 percent to $509.79 - its lowest close since Feb. 17 - after UBS cut its price target on the stock to $700 from $780. The stock of the most valuable U.S. company has been hit hard in the last three months. On Friday, Apple's stock fell after a tepid reception for the iPhone 5 in China.
The S&P Information Technology Index .GSPT lost 1 percent as Apple fell and Jabil Circuit Inc JBL.N shed 5.5 percent to $17.51 after UBS cut its price target.
The possibility of a fiscal cliff deal not taking place until early 2013 is rising. The back-and-forth negotiations over the fiscal cliff in Washington have kept markets on hold in what would already be a quiet period for stocks.
"We're faced with uncertainty ... and that's going to continue now into January. It basically puts everybody on hold and (you) just have the markets kind of thrash around," said Larry Peruzzi, senior equity trader at Cabrera Capital Markets Inc in Boston.
President Barack Obama and U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner held a "frank" meeting on Thursday at the White House to discuss how to avoid the tax hikes and spending cuts set to kick in early in 2013.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI slipped 35.71 points, or 0.27 percent, to 13,135.01 at the close. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX fell 5.87 points, or 0.41 percent, to 1,413.58. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC lost 20.83 points, or 0.70 percent, to close at 2,971.33.
For the week, the Dow slipped 0.2 percent, while the S&P 500 fell 0.3 percent and the Nasdaq declined 0.2 percent.
Investors are concerned that going over the cliff could tip the economy back into recession. While a deal is expected to ultimately be reached, a drawn-out debate - like the one over 2011's debt ceiling - can erode confidence.
Best Buy Co Inc BBY.N slid 14.7 percent to $12.05 after the electronics retailer agreed to extend the deadline for the company's founder to make a bid. Shares jumped as much as 19 percent on Thursday after initial reports of a bid this week from founder Richard Schulze.
Among the day's economic data, consumer prices fell in November for the first time in six months, indicating U.S. inflation pressures were muted. A separate report showed manufacturing grew at its swiftest pace in eight months in December.
Data out of China was encouraging, as Chinese manufacturing grew at its fastest pace in 14 months in December. The news was deemed as helpful for U.S. materials companies, including U.S. Steel X.N, which rose 6.8 percent to $23.85.
Volume was roughly 5.8 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and the NYSE MKT, compared with the year-to-date average daily closing volume of 6.52 billion.
Decliners outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by a ratio of about 8 to 7. On the Nasdaq, decliners barely held an edge over advancers, with 1,241 stocks falling and 1,196 shares rising.
NYMEX- NEW YORK, Dec 14 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures rose on Friday on expectations that demand in China will improve after data showed the manufacturing sector expanding this month, and with the weaker U.S. dollar also lending support to oil prices.
CBOT SOYBEAN- CBOT spot soybean futures rose for a third straight session Friday and neared psychological resistance at $15 per bushel after industry data showed the latest monthly U.S. soybean crush
was the largest in nearly three years.
• January soybeans SF3 reached a one-week high of $14.97 before settling at $14.96. The contract hit $14.98-1/4 a week ago but has not traded above $15 since Nov. 8.
• CBOT soyoil closed higher, halting a three-day slide, on short-covering and spillover strength from Malaysian palm oil, which rose 2 percent a day after hitting a three-year low. Funds hold a large net short position in CBOT soyoil, leaving the market open to periodic bouts of short-covering.
• For the week, January soybean futures SF3 rose 1.5 percent, their fourth straight weekly advance. January soymeal SMF3 rose 3.2 percent, its fourth straight weekly rise, while January soyoil BOF3 ended the week down 2.4 percent, snapping a three-week rally.
• The National Oilseed Processors Association reported the November U.S. soybean crush at 157.3 million bushels, the largest monthly total in nearly three years.
• Analysts attributed the robust crushing pace to high profit margins, fueled in part by the strongest demand for U.S. soybean meal since the 2009/10 marketing season.
• NOPA reported U.S. soyoil stocks at 2.385 billion lbs, above a range of trade estimates for 2.138 billion to 2.280 billion.
• Cash soybean markets remain firm, lending support to nearby futures. Basis bids for soybeans shipped by barge to the U.S. Gulf export terminal rose on Friday on exporter demand, traders said.
FCPO- SINGAPORE, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures rebound on Friday from the previous day's three-year low but prices still posted their fourth consecutive weekly loss as worries persisted over record high stocks.
For the week, palm oil lost almost 1 percent after slumping to the lowest since November 2009 on Thursday. Sluggish global economic growth, which hurt commodity demand, has also put the edible oil on track for the steepest annual loss since 2008.
"Concerns about large stockpiles are still hovering despite the fact that, on the financial market side, we have further stimulus coming from the U.S. Fed and some speculation that Japan may expand its asset purchasing programme," said Ker Chung Yang, commodities analyst with Phillip Futures in Singapore.
"For today we see some kind of a relief rally after yesterday's drop, but the fundamentals are still the same."
At the close, the benchmark February contract FCPOc3 on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 2.1 percent to 2,276 ringgit ($746) per tonne. Prices fell to 2,217 ringgit the previous day, a level unseen since November 2009.
Total traded volumes stood at 44,837 lots of 25 tonnes each, higher than the usual 25,000 lots.
Traders will be looking out for Malaysia's export data for the first half of December, hoping for a stronger export demand after cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services reported a 2.8 percent slide in shipments for the Dec. 1-10 period.
They are also waiting for Malaysia's new January crude palm oil export tax set to be announced on Monday, with analysts expecting it to be set at zero, a level that could boost export demand and help bring stocks down.
In a bullish sign for palm oil, Brent crude rose toward $109 a barrel on Friday on a brighter outlook for China's economy, the world's second largest oil consumer, but worries about the impact of a possible U.S. fiscal crisis capped price gains.
In other vegetable oil markets, U.S. soyoil for January delivery BOF3 gained 1.4 percent in late Asian trade. The most active May 2013 soybean oil contract DBYcv1 on the Dalian Commodity Exchange also closed 1.4 percent higher.
REGIONAL EQUITY- BANGKOK, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Stocks in the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia fell in light volume on Friday as market players sold rallying stocks such as Axiata Group Bhd AXIA.KL and Ayala Corp AC.PS but optimism over China's data lent support elsewhere in the region.
The Philippine index .PSI, Southeast Asia's worst performer, fell 1.4 percent on the day, capping the 1.5 percent loss on the week, its worst since July.
Profit-takers continued to derail Manila bourse's rally this year. Conglomerate Ayala Corp dropped 5.2 percent on the week after rising to its record high on Tuesday.
Malaysia's main index .KLSE edged down 0.05 percent. It was up 2.1 percent on the week, the region's best performer ahead of Singapore's .FTSTI 2 percent and Thailand's .SETI 1.8 percent gains.
In Kuala Lumpur, shares in Axiata Group Bhd AXIA.KL, Southeast Asia's second-largest mobile phone provider, ended down 0.3 percent, paring early gains.
Axiata hit a near two-month high on Thursday after kicking off consolidation of Cambodia's crowded telecommunications market with the $155 million acquisition of rival Latelz Co. Ltd, Cambodia's second-largest wireless company.
Axiata was up almost 9 percent on the week, its biggest weekly gain since February 2010.
