DJI - NEW YORK, March 8 (Reuters) - U.S.
stocks closed out a historic week with another day of gains on Friday, as the
Dow hit yet another record closing high on a payrolls report that surpassed
even the most optimistic forecasts.
The S&P 500 climbed for its
sixth straight day, putting it less than 1 percent from an all-time closing
high. The benchmark S&P index rose for its ninth positive week out of the
last 10. All three major U.S. stock indexes racked up their biggest weekly
gains since the first week of the year.
Hiring in the United States jumped
in February with non-farm payrolls adding 236,000 last month, surging past
expectations for a gain of 160,000 jobs and even topping the highest forecast
of analysts polled by Reuters. The unemployment rate fell to 7.7 percent, the
lowest since December 2008.
"This was a lot higher than anyone
was expecting, and it definitely shines light on the fact that the economy is
improving," said Owen Fitzpatrick, head of U.S. equities at Deutsche Bank
Asset and Wealth Management in New York.
"While in the near term, we may
be overdue for a pause, given how much we've run. It is very constructive to
see numbers improve like this," Fitzpatrick said.
For the year, the Dow is up 9.9
percent, while the S&P 500 is up 8.8 percent and the Nasdaq is up about 7.5
percent.
The day's gains were offset by a decline
in some bank shares in the wake of the Federal Reserve's "stress
test" results. While the results were largely positive and as expected,
with the Fed saying the biggest U.S. banks had enough capital to withstand a
severe economic downturn, investors took the opportunity to book profits in the
group.
"Financials have had a good
run, so people are selling on the news, except for Citi, which was a real
outlier on the positive side," Fitzpatrick said.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 67.58 points, or 0.47 percent, to 14,397.07, another record closing high.
The Standard & Poor's 500 Index advanced 6.92 points, or 0.45 percent, to 1,551.18. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 12.28 points, or 0.38 percent, to end at 3,244.37.
Brent Crude Oil - NEW YORK, March 8 (Reuters) - Brent crude futures edged
lower in choppy trading on Friday, pressured by a stronger dollar, while
surging U.S. gasoline futures helped limit losses.
Brent April crude fell 30 cents, or
0.27 percent, to settle at $110.85 a barrel, having traded from $109.14 to
$111.33.
For the week, Brent managed a gain of 40 cents, or 0.4
percent, snapping a string of three straight weekly losses.
CBOT Soybean - March 8 (Reuters) - Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of
Trade ended mostly lower on Friday after the U.S. Department of Agriculture's
forecasts of U.S. and world soybean stocks came in above trade expectations,
traders said.
- The unwinding of long soybean/short corn spreads added pressure.
- Still, for the week, most-active May soybeans rose 27-1/2 cents per bushel, or 1.9 percent. May soymeal rose $5.90 a ton, or 1.4 percent. May soyoil rose 0.67 cent per lb, or 1.3 percent.
- USDA left its forecast of U.S. 2012/13 soy ending stocks unchanged at 125 million bushels, a nine-year low that was nonetheless above the average trade estimate of 120 million. Analysts had expected a drop, citing strong export demand for U.S. soy supplies.
- USDA also raised its forecast of 2012/13 global soybean ending stocks to 60.21 million tonnes, when most analysts expected a reduction.
- USDA cut its 2012/13 soybean production forecast for Argentina but left its estimate of Brazil's crop unchanged at a record 83.5 million tonnes, topping the Brazilian government's forecast of 82.1 million.
- The spot CBOT March soybean contract , which is in delivery, continued to gain against most-active May on spreads ahead of its expiration next week. The premium for March over May soybeans peaked at 38 cents, a four-month high.
- Nearby soybean contracts underpinned by firm cash markets. Cash basis bids for soybeans shipped by barge to the U.S. Gulf were mostly steady early on Friday, underpinned by good demand for spot supplies.
- Port congestion and long loading delays in Brazil have shifted some export demand to the United States at a time when U.S. demand normally declines.
- CBOT reported the number of soyoil contracts registered for delivery fell by 148 contracts late Thursday.
- CBOT reported five March soybean deliveries, one soymeal
delivery and 40 soyoil deliveries.
BMD CPO - KUALA LUMPUR, March 8 (Reuters) -
Malaysian palm oil futures inched up on Friday, posting a weekly gain of more
than 3 percent, as expectations of upcoming bullish data offset investor
caution after the industry's biggest annual meeting this week.
Investors took positions ahead of
the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) report due on Friday that is expected
to show a smaller soybean supply, while a Reuters poll also showed Malaysian
palm oil stocks are likely to ease in February.
But some market participants still
remained cautious after a consensus on price forecasts for this year failed to
emerge from the Bursa Malaysia palm oil conference that ended on Wednesday.
"The mixed views from the
conference are kind of disappointing and with the focus now being shifted to
the USDA tonight, I still believe the palm market will continue to be trading
sideways," said Ker Chung Yang, investment analyst with Phillip Futures in
Singapore.
The benchmark May contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange had edged up 0.7 percent to 2,449
ringgit ($790) per tonne, but was off a high of 2,451 ringgit, a level unseen
since Feb. 26.
Total traded volume stood at 27,046
lots of 25 tonnes each, slightly higher than the usual 25,000 lots, as
investors took positions ahead of the industry data.
A decline of nearly a fifth in
output probably eased Malaysian palm oil stocks in February to a six-month low,
a Reuters survey of five plantation companies showed on Thursday.
For the week, palm oil posted a gain
of 3.4 percent, although trade volumes were thin for most of the week as market
participants watched for trading cues from the conference.
China, the world's biggest soy
buyer, imported 24.3 percent less of the oilseed in February on the year, due
to low seasonal demand and holidays. March imports are also expected to be
lower on the year, a trend that may push up domestic prices of products.
In other markets, Brent futures
steadied above $111 a barrel on Friday after Chinese exports for February beat
forecasts, while a restart of a crucial North Sea pipeline limited gains.
In competing vegetable oil markets,
U.S. soyoil for May delivery edged up 0.3 percent in late Asian trade. The most-active September soybean oil
contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange closed
0.5 percent higher.
Regional Equities - March 8 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian
stock markets ended firmer on Friday, taking cues from Asian peers, as gains in
U.S. stocks and forecast-beating Chinese exports data boosted investor
sentiment for the region's risky assets.
The Philippines ,
the region's best performer this year, hit a record high of 6,859.79 before
ending at 6,833.77, making a gain of 1.62 percent.
The Philippines' second-most
valuable listed firm and conglomerate SM Investments Corp,
which posted a 16.3 percent increase in full-year 2012 net profit, rose 4.7
percent, driving the overall index gain.
Indonesia gained 0.5 percent to 4,874.50, marking record close for a third straight
session, led by a 1.2 percent gain in Astra International Tbk PT.
Thailand closed 0.4 percent firmer at an 18-year high of 1,566.92, pushed up by
construction shares, with Siam Cement Pcl rising 3.8 percent.
Malaysia,
Asia's worst performer in 2013, edged up 0.2 percent with a $112.43 million
foreign inflow, while Vietnam,
the region's smallest bourse, gained 0.9 percent on bargain hunting after the
market fell to an oversold territory.
Bucking the trend, Singapore edged down 0.3 percent, weighed by developers such as CapitaLand Ltd,
which fell 3 percent on market talk about more government measures to cool the
city-state's property market.
