Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Trader's highlight

FCPO-SINGAPORE, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures fell to more than a three-week low on Monday as investor concerns over the euro zone debt crisis and higher-than-expected edible oil supplies weighed on the market.

Rating agency S&P on Friday cut nine of the euro zone's 17 countries, including top-notch France and Austria, and said it would decide shortly whether to downgrade the euro zone's bailout fund.

Benchmark April palm oil futures on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange fell 0.7 percent to close at 3,126 ringgit ($996) per tonne. Prices earlier dropped to 3,099 ringgit, a level last seen on Dec. 22. Traded volumes stood at lots of 28,163 lots of 25 tonnes each, slightly higher than the usual 25,000 lots.

REGIONAL EQUITIES- BANGKOK, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets fell on Monday, led by commodities-related and banking shares, after euro zone sovereign rating cuts by Standard & Poor's rekindled concerns about the euro zone's debt crisis.

S&P downgraded nine of the euro zone's 17 countries, including top-notch France and Austria, and said it would decide shortly whether to downgrade the euro zone's bailout fund.

Southeast Asia saw light trading, with markets awaiting bond auctions by France and Spain later this week, seen as another big test of investor confidence in the euro zone.

Leading losers, Singapore's Straits Times Index <.FTSTI> dropped 1.26 percent, after Friday's 1.8 percent climb to five-week highs. Traders said retail and short-term traders might sell further during the week due to demand for cash ahead of the Chinese New Year holidays.

Stocks in Malaysia <.KLSE> fell 0.92 percent, Indonesia <.JKSE> eased 0.65 percent and Thailand <.SETI> lost 0.75 percent.

Among actively traded, Singapore's DBS Group Holdings Ltd dropped 2.9 percent after Friday's 4.2 percent surge to two-month highs. Coal miners fell, with Thai Banpu Pcl down 1.4 percent and Indonesia's PT Adaro Energy Tbk sliding 1.7 percent.