DJI - NEW YORK, March 11 (Reuters) - Wall
Street rose modestly on Monday, lifting the Dow to another record and giving
the S&P 500 its seventh straight advance as early weakness enticed buyers.
The gains briefly lifted the benchmark S&P 500 index to its highest
intraday level since October 2007.
With the slight advance, U.S. stocks
continued last week's rally that took the Dow Jones industrial average to
record highs. The S&P 500's record closing high stands at 1,565.15, which
it reached on Oct. 9, 2007.
Wall Street's "fear gauge"
closed at its lowest level since February 2007, suggesting investors were not
spooked by Monday's brief pullback, despite expectations by many investors that
a correction may be looming. The CBOE Volatility Index ,
known as the VIX, dropped 8.2 percent to 11.56.
U.S. equities have rallied strongly
since the start of the year, helped by signs of improvement in the economy and
the support of equities by the Federal Reserve's quantitative easing program.
These factors have contained recent pullbacks as investors have used them as a
buying opportunity.
"These dips are consistently
bought. There is definitely a soft floor for the market," said Peter
Kenny, managing director at Knight Capital in Jersey City, New Jersey.
"It’s a QE bid," Kenny
said, referring to the Fed's policy of keeping short-term interest rates near
zero since late 2008. "Quite frankly, earnings have not disappointed to
the point where it is has been disrupted, and there is nothing out there that
seems to be getting in the way of this slow but very consistent and methodical
drift higher in the market."
But volume was light, with about
5.39 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE MKT and Nasdaq,
below the daily average of 6.47 billion, suggesting the rally may be losing
steam.
On Monday, the S&P 500 climbed
as high as 1,556.27 - its highest intraday level since Oct. 15, 2007.
The Dow has gained over 10 percent
for the year, while the S&P 500 is up more than 9 percent.
Wall Street had traded slightly
lower earlier in the day as Italy's credit downgrade and disappointing Chinese
economic data gave investors a reason to pause.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 50.22 points, or 0.35 percent, to 14,447.29, a record closing high. The
Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 5.04 points, or 0.32 percent, to 1,556.22. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 8.51 points, or 0.26 percent, to close at 3,252.87.
Brent Crude Oil - NEW YORK, March 11 (Reuters) - Brent crude futures fell on
Monday, pressured by disappointing data from world No. 2 oil consumer China,
but settled well above the session low.
Brent April crude fell 63 cents, or
0.57 percent, to settle at $110.22 a barrel, having reached $110.72 and fallen
to as low as $109.53.
CBOT Soybean - March 11 (Reuters) - Soybean futures on the Chicago Board
of Trade rose on Monday on firm cash markets and expectations that delays in
loading soybeans out of Brazil would shift more export demand to the United
States, traders said.
- Nearby contracts in soybeans and soymeal gained against back months on spreads.
- Firming cash values underpinned soyoil, although gains in soyoil futures trailed those in soybeans and soymeal.
- Basis bids for soybeans shipped by barge to the U.S. Gulf were steady to higher early on Monday on demand for nearby shipments and limited supplies in the export pipeline. Traders expect additional old-crop soybean sales due to logistical problems in shipping Brazilian soybeans.
- Argentine soy and corn fields received little rain in recent days and could be hit by frost late this week in southern Buenos Aires, a local meteorologist said.
- Export inspections were disappointing. USDA reported weekly U.S. soybean inspections at 17.114 million bushels, well below a range of trade estimates for 30 million to 40 million.
- USDA corrected a sales announcement from March 5 to say private exporters reported sales of 225,000 tonnes of soybeans and 120,000 tonnes of corn for delivery to China in 2013/2014, instead of 345,000 tonnes of soybeans to China for 2013/14.
- CBOT reported seven soyoil deliveries against March futures, along with one soymeal delivery and five soybean deliveries.
BMD CPO - SINGAPORE, March 11 (Reuters) -
Malaysian palm oil futures were almost flat on Monday, as lower palm oil stocks
in the country offset a slightly bearish report by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) last week.
The USDA raised its global stockpile
estimate for soybeans against expectations of a slight decline, and as a result
also increased the inventory of soybean oil, a scenario that could shift some
demand away from competing palm oil.
"By itself, the news of the
higher soybean oil inventory should be slightly negative to crude palm oil
prices as both commodities are commonly used as the substitute for each
other," Alan Lim Seong Chun, research analyst with Malaysia's Kenanga
Investment Bank, told clients in a note.
"But despite the short-term
weakness seen, price downside should be limited, due to the expected decline in
Malaysia’s palm oil stocks."
Malaysia's February palm oil stocks
fell 5.2 percent to 2.44 million tonnes from 2.58 million in January, industry
regulator Malaysian Palm Oil Board said after the midday break.
The inventory fall was less than the
drop to the 2.42 million level expected in a Reuters survey for stocks in the
world's No.2 palm oil producer.
At market close, the benchmark May
contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange
was almost unchanged at 2,449 ringgit ($787) per tonne, but was off a high of
2,467 ringgit, a level unseen since Feb. 26.
Total traded volume stood at 31,687
lots of 25 tonnes each, higher than the usual 25,000 lots.
The slightly bearish USDA data and
high vegetable oil stocks also weighed on Chinese soybean oil, with the
most-active September soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange falling to the lowest since July 2010.
U.S. soyoil for May delivery edged down 0.1 percent in late Asian trade.
Malaysian palm oil export data for
March 1-10 failed to lift the market as cargo surveyor Intertek Testing
Services reported shipments at 441,025 tonnes, almost flat with last month.
Another cargo surveyor, Societe
Generale de Surveillance, reported a slight 2.2 percent increase in exports for
the same period.
Crude palm oil exports fell by half
from last month as Malaysia raised its export tax for the grade to 4.5 percent
this month from zero.
In other markets, Brent futures
slipped further below $111 on Monday as the latest data from China pointed to
an uneven economic recovery in the world's second-biggest oil consumer and
raised demand growth concerns, while a stronger dollar put more pressure on
prices.
Regional Equities - BANGKOK, March 11 (Reuters) -
Southeast Asian stock markets ended mixed on Monday, with Indonesia retreating
from last week's record high ahead of a market holiday, while Malaysia posted
modest gains as foreign investors continued to buy into the laggard market.
Jakarta's Composite Index was down 0.4 percent at 4,854.31, after a record close for a third straight
session on Friday at 4,874.50. Investors sold recent gainers such as PT
Perusahaan Gas Negara Tbk ,
which dropped 4.6 percent.
Shares in Perusahaan Gas Negara hit
a record close of 5,450 rupiah on Friday amid optimism about its acquisitions
to help boost growth.
Indonesian markets will be shut on
Tuesday for a national holiday, reopening on Wednesday.
The Philippines edged down 0.3 percent at 6,813.95, hovering near the record close of 6,835.21
hit on March 6.
Kuala Lumpur's Composite Index gained 0.24 percent as foreign investors bought a net 318.68 million ringgit
($103 million), countering selling by retail and institutional investors, stock
exchange data showed.
Singapore's Straits Times Index edged up 0.1 percent, led by a 3.4 percent gain in Singapore Press Holdings Ltd
after its plan to list a real estate investment trust.
Losers in the city-state included
Wilmar International Ltd , which fell almost 4 percent. A report
that Norway's $710 billion sovereign wealth fund has pulled out of 23 Asian
palm oil companies weighed on the stock.
Bangkok's SET index gained 0.7 percent to 1,577.65, a new 19-year high as investors bought index
heavyweights, with PTT Pcl rising 2.4 percent and Advanced Info Service Pcl climbing 3.2 percent.
The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange's VN
Index gained 1.2 percent, regaining much of its
lost ground. It fell 1.4 percent last week, when it was Southeast Asia's worst
performer.
