Thursday, March 29, 2012

Trader's Highlight

DJI- NEW YORK, March 28 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks declined on Wednesday as sliding oil and metals prices gave investors a reason to sell commodity-related shares.

A sharp fall in U.S. crude oil futures hit energy stocks, prompted by talk of a release of some U.S. and European strategic oil reserves. Materials shares dropped as well.

A weaker-than-expected report on U.S. durable goods orders deflated some of the recent investor optimism over the economy, leading to softness in industrial shares.

Window dressing at the "end of quarter has probably driven up stock prices over the last couple of days," said Robbert Van Batenburg, head of equity research at Louis Capital in New York.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> fell 71.52 points, or 0.54 percent, to 13,126.21 at the close. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> slipped 6.98 points, or 0.49 percent, to 1,405.54. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> declined 15.39 points, or 0.49 percent, to 3,104.96.

NYMEX- NEW YORK, March 28 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures fell on Wednesday as a jump in crude inventories in the United States and the prospect of a release of U.S. and some European strategic reserves sent oil prices into retreat.

U.S. crude stocks rose by 7.1 million barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration said, more than forecast.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, May crude fell $1.92, or 1.79 percent, to settle at $105.41 a barrel, below the 30-day average of $106.32, and having traded from $104.67 to $106.94.

CBOT SOYBEANS- Soybean futures at the Chicago Board of Trade fell slightly on technical selling and long liquidation ahead of USDA plantings and quarterly stocks reports on Friday, traders said.

Spillover pressure from lower corn and crude oil futures added pressure, although soybeans pared losses by the close.

Soymeal gained against soyoil on meal/oil spreads; soyoil pressured by nearly 2 percent decline in crude oil.

FCPO-SINGAPORE, March 28 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures closed down on Wednesday as traders booked profits from a one-year high hit the previous day, although losses were limited by news of larger food imports by China and soybean crop damage in South America.

Palm oil has gained 9.4 percent so far this year with 3,500 ringgit level within striking distance although many in the market say the run-up is too speculative.

Commodity traders are facing a choppy week as the focus turns to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's quarterly inventory report and planting forecast due on Friday.

Benchmark June palm oil futures on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange edged down 0.2 percent to close at 3,473 ringgit ($1,134) per tonne. Prices touched a
more-than-one-year high level of 3,497 ringgit on Tuesday.

Traded volumes stood at 20,004 lots of 25 tonnes each, thinner than the usual 25,000 lots as investors were wary ahead of the Friday reports.

REGIONAL EQUITY- BANGKOK, March 28 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets edged down on Wednesday in moderate volumes looking for more clues in the economic data from the U.S. after rallying on hopes of further stimulus from the Federal Reserve.

Investors remained cautious in buying the region's risky assets ahead of U.S. durable goods orders data for February, due later in the day after comments on Tuesday by Fed chief Ben Bernanke fueled investor bets for further U.S. monetary
stimulus.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Tuesday it was too soon to declare victory in the U.S. economic recovery, warning against complacency in policymaking as the outlook brightens.

In Singapore, rig builder Keppel Corp Ltd bucked the trend with a 0.6 percent gain after announcing a rig deal worth $315 million.