DJI- NEW YORK, May 11 (Reuters) - Shares of U.S. banks slumped on Friday after JPMorgan said it lost billions of dollars on bad trades, but the overall market ended only modestly lower, thanks to gains in technology shares.
JPMorgan Chase & Co , the largest U.S. bank by assets, dropped 9.3 percent on record high volume after it disclosed losses on derivatives trades. The news sparked fears that the problems could reverberate through the banking sector. The KBW bank index <.BKX> fell 1.2 percent.
"JPMorgan will become a political issue. This will increase regulations on banks, and the overhang on large banks will last for awhile," said Tim Ghriskey, who oversees about $2 billion as chief investment officer of Solaris Group in Bedford Hills, New York.
Wall Street ended lower for the second week in a row, as concerns about Europe's fiscal health resurfaced as political turmoil in Greece again sparked worry that it could exit the euro and Spain's ailing banks spurred fears the country could need a bailout, while some U.S. economic data raised questions about growth.
But a survey released on Friday showed U.S. consumer sentiment rose to a more than four-year high in early May as Americans remained upbeat about the job market. The survey was a welcome sign amid worries that the economic recovery may be slowing down.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was down 34.44 points, or 0.27 percent, at 12,820.60. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was down 4.60 points, or 0.34 percent, at 1,353.39. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was up 0.18 points, or 0.01 percent, at 2,933.82.
For the week, the Dow fell 1.7 percent, the S&P fell 1.1 percent, and the Nasdaq was off 0.8 percent.
"The trader types see that we came down to that 1,340 area on the S&P 500, started to bounce, started to see some buying, some bottom fishing, then you got that consumer sentiment number, and that was compelling enough," he said.
The disclosure by JPMorgan came as shocking news by a bank viewed as a strong risk manager.
JPMorgan estimates the business unit involved in the trading loss will lose $800 million in the current quarter, excluding private equity results and litigation expenses. The bank had previously expected the unit to post a profit of about $200 million.
Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan's chief executive, cautioned that losses could grow by another $1 billion, another hurdle for a sector already besieged by the sovereign debt crisis in Europe and fears of slowing growth globally. [ID:nL1E8GALF5]
The news weighed on bank shares as investors feared both a greater risk of more regulation and the potential for more such losses at other banks. The stocks, however, came off their lows of the morning.
NYMEX- NEW YORK, May 11 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures fell nearly 1 percent on Friday as weaker industrial growth in China and persistent euro zone worries clouded the oil demand outlook.
A four-year-high reading in U.S. consumer confidence failed to halt the day's selling, causing crude futures to fall for a second straight week, racking up the biggest two-week percentage loss since the end of September last year. For the report on cosumer confidence, see [ID:nL1E8GA890]
A forecast for a small rise in oil demand caused little stir in the oil markets
The International Energy Agency said global oil demand will remain little changed this year. It forecast that demand will edge up 20,000 barrels per day from its previous monthly forecast, to 790,000 bpd. [IEA/M]
Meanwhile, a weekly report from the U.S. futures market regulator showed the biggest ever cuts in net U.S. crude oil long positions by big traders, reflecting the recent steep sell-off that has sent prices sharply lower. [ID:nL1E8SB85I]
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission said that hedge funds and other large speculative investors slashed their positions in NYMEX crude oil and options in the week to May 8 by 81,674 contracts to 153,725 in the period.
* On the New York Mercantile Exchange, June crude settled 95 cents lower at $96.13 a barrel.
* For the week, front-month crude fell $2.36 or 2.4 percent, extending losses to a second straight week. In those two weeks, U.S. front-month crude dropped $8.80, or 8.4 percent, the biggest two-week percentage loss since Sept. 30, 2011.
* BP has made the first offer to sell crude oil in the U.S. Gulf Coast from the glutted Cushing, Oklahoma, trading hub via the reverseed Seaway pipeline, due to start next week, raising hope for stronger prices for Canadian and U.S. crudes, traders and brokers said. [ID:nL1E8GBRAN]
* Enbridge Inc Canada's No. 2 pipeline company, plans to spend $1.3 billion doubling the capacity of its Line 6B in Michingan and Indiana as reffiners raise demand for inexpensive Canadian crude. [ID:nL1E8SB4NZ]
* China's implied oil deamnd dropped to a six-month low in April and posted its first yearly decline in at last the last three years due to a sputtering economy and high crude prices. [ID:nL4E8GB4ZX]
CBOT SOYBEAN- Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade plunged 3.4 percent, their biggest daily slide in 7-1/2 months, on long liquidation and risk aversion amid concerns about the health of the global economy, traders said.
* Benchmark July soybeans broke below its 40-day moving average, erasing strong gains notched a day earlier after a bullish government forecast for U.S. soy ending stocks.
* For the week, CBOT soybeans unofficially fell 4.8 percent, the second straight weekly drop and the biggest since late November.
* Commodity sector under pressure as Greece appeared unable to form a government and Chinese data came in unexpectedly weak, fuelling fears of a global economic slowdown. [MKTS/GLOB]
* Markets also rattled by an unexpected $2 billion trading loss at Wall Street giant JP Morgan , which pushed jittery investors away from risky assets. [ID:nL5E8GB6XO]
* Funds held a record-large net long position in CBOT soybeans in the latest CFTC reporting week, leaving the market open to bouts of long liquidation.
* Favorable U.S. crop weather lent pressure, supporting prospects for large U.S. crops.
* USDA confirmed sales of 139,500 tonnes of U.S. soybeans to unknown destinations for 2011/12 delivery. [ID:nL1E8GBK7F]
* Workers at one of Argentina's biggest grains ports lifted a strike and agreed to respect a Labor Ministry order for talks to resolve the pay dispute, union and industry sources said. [ID:nL1E8GBRK6]
* Ahead of NOPA's April U.S. soy crush data due out Monday, the average analyst estimate was 134.8 million bushels, compared with NOPA's March figure of 140.534 million bu. Analyst estimates for April ranged from 128.5 million to 144 million bushels. [ID:nL1E8GBX1W]
FCPO- SINGAPORE, May 11 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures slipped to a 9-week low on Friday before ending more than 2 percent lower as political uncertainty in the euro zone and weak industrial production data in China weighed on the demand outlook for the edible oil.
China's industrial production in April grew at its slowest pace in nearly three years, which along with poor trade numbers on Thursday, suggest the world's No. 2 economy continues to slow down after a weak first-quarter performance. [ID:nL4E2GB0UT]
A gloomy global economic outlook, together with slowing exports in Malaysia indicated by cargo surveyor data, sent palm oil futures down 2.5 percent this week.
"First, refining margins are negative and demand is anaemic," said a trader with a local commodities brokerage in Malaysia.
"The macro uncertainty over in Europe also weighed on the market plus technical indicators are bearish after having failed repeatedly to break key resistance levels."
Benchmark July palm oil futures on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange fell 2.2 percent to close at 3,275 ringgit ($1,067) per tonne. Prices earlier touched a low of 3,265 ringgit, the weakest since March 8.
Traded volumes stood at 30,413 lots of 25 tonnes each, higher than the usual 25,000 lots.
Lower demand from major food buyers China and India contributed to the fall in shipments, while the slowing global economic growth is also a concern.
But a low global stocks of oilseeds, suggesting a tightening supply of the raw materials for competing edible oils, remains a bullish factor for palm oil.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast record exports next season for soybeans, shrinking U.S. stocks to the lowest in four years. [ID:nL4E8GB2FD]
On the local front, the Malaysian Palm Oil Board, also reported April stock levels at a one-year low.
Malaysia's April palm oil stock level fell 5.4 percent to 1.85 million tonnes from a month ago, which some analysts said was at the lower range of the consensus' expectation. [GRA/]
"It was 3 percent below our estimate of 1.9 million tonnes as the tree stress effect had caused a deeper production drop than expected," Alan Lim, an analyst with Malaysia's Kenanga Investment Bank, said in a research report.
"On the overall, the sustained drop in the stocks level below 2 million tonnes is positive for CPO prices," he said, referring to crude palm oil.
REGIONAL EQUITY-BANGKOK, May 11 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets fell on Friday on continued euro zone political turmoil and weak economic data from China that led investors to sell commodity-related shares.
Singapore's Straits Times Index <.FTSTI> was down 0.7 percent, bringing its weekly loss to 3.6 percent.
Thailand's benchmark SET index <.SETI> ended a tad higher, recouping early losses as investors bought beaten down big caps after the sell off in the previous two sessions that wiped more than 3 percent off the index.
Among actively traded, Singapore's Wilmar International Ltd , the world's largest listed palm oil firm, fell 3 percent, extending Thursday's losses due to weak first quarter earnings.
In Bangkok, Banpu Pcl fell 2.6 percent to a seven-month low after the top coal miner reported a 70 percent fall in quarterly net profit.
