DJI - NEW YORK, March 15 (Reuters) - U.S.
stocks edged lower on Friday, weighed by a decline in JPMorgan Chase shares
after the bank was hit by a one-two punch of bad news and as investors paused
just below the S&P 500's record high.
The widely watched index was about 6
points away from its record closing high of 1,565.15, set in October 2007,
after failing to break above that level on Thursday.
Friday's dip also meant the Dow was
on track to snap its 10-day winning streak during which it racked up a series
of all-time highs. Equities have rallied since the start of the year on signs
of improvement in the economy and supported by the Federal Reserve's efforts to
bolster the recovery.
"It seems like the market is
digesting some of the rally that we have seen so far, but when we reflect on
the current valuation which is 13 1/2 times earnings on a forward looking
basis, it is still a comfortable level compared to around 20 in 2007 and 29-30
levels in 2000," said David Lyon, Investment Specialist, J.P. Morgan
Private Bank, based in San Francisco.
JPMorgan Chase & Co was the biggest drag on the S&P 500 and one of the biggest weights on the
Dow, falling 2.2 percent to $49.87.
The Federal Reserve told JPMorgan
and Goldman Sachs Group Inc that they must fix flaws in how they
determine capital payouts to shareholders, though the central bank still
approved their plans for share buybacks and dividends.
A Senate report alleged that
JPMorgan had ignored risks, misled investors, fought with regulators and tried
to work around rules as it dealt with mushrooming losses in a derivatives
portfolio. A former top JPMorgan official told lawmakers on Friday she was not
to blame for the losses.
In contrast, Goldman shares recovered
from early weakness to gain 0.3 percent to $154.58. The stock of rival Bank of
America rose 3.9 percent to $12.58. The S&P
financial sector index edged up 0.3 percent.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 49.40 points, or 0.34 percent, at 14,489.74. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index was down 4.96 points, or 0.32 percent, at
1,558.27. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 13.44 points, or 0.41 percent, at 3,245.49.
Brent and Crude Oils - NEW YORK, March 15 (Reuters) - U.S.
crude oil futures settled higher on Friday, driven by strong U.S. industrial
output data in the world's largest oil consumer and a weaker U.S. dollar.
The weaker dollar buffered oil
prices from declining on the back of the U.S. stock market being knocked off
its highs.
The dollar fell as investors opted
to book profits after U.S. inflation data kept the door open for the Federal
Reserve to continue its bond-buying program for the foreseeable future.
"The dollar is down a lot more
in the last two days so hence the buoyancy in energy prices," said Walter
Zimmermann, chief technical analyst with brokerage United ICAP in New York.
"And energy prices are being insulated from stock market weakness by
weakness in the dollar today."
Crude oil prices are denominated in
U.S. dollars and when the value of the currency sinks, prices rise to offset
the weakness.
STANDOFF
Iran was still more than a year from
developing a nuclear weapon, Obama said in an interview with Israeli television
broadcast on Thursday, six days before his visit to Israel.
Obama appeared to send a message to
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the need for patience with
Washington's Iran strategy, while also showing U.S. resolve to confront Tehran
if necessary.
Worries that the standoff between
the West and Iran over the Islamic Republic's nuclear program will escalate and
disrupt oil supplies have kept Brent above $100 a barrel through most of 2012
and this year.
CBOT Soybean - Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade fell for a fourth session on Friday as disappointing U.S. soybean crush data combined with pressure from the expanding South American harvest, traders said.
* The National Oilseed Processors Association reported the U.S. February soybean crush at 136.3 million bushels, below a range of trade estimates and down from 158.2 million in January.
• CBOT soyoil ended higher, supported by traders unwinding meal/oil spreads and by NOPA's February soyoil stocks figure of 2.790 billion lbs, a decline from 2.823 billion in January.
• For the week, May soybeans SK3 fell 45 cents or 3.1 percent, the contract's biggest drop since early January. May soymeal SMK3 fell 3.8 percent, ending a three-week climb, while May soyoil BOK3 fell 0.8 percent, its third drop in four weeks.
• Allendale Inc survey projected U.S. 2013 soybean plantings at a record-high 78.324 million acres and corn plantings at 96.956 million acres.
• Rain and some snow are expected by the weekend and again late next week in the northern U.S. Midwest, which will add valuable soil moisture ahead of spring planting. (Full Story)
• USDA said private exporters reported sales of 165,000 tonnes of U.S. soybeans to China for delivery in 2013/14.
• Malaysian palm oil futures rose on bargain-hunting after three straight sessions of losses, with traders expecting seasonally lower production and firm exports to help stocks ease further.
• CBOT reported no deliveries of soybeans, soymeal or soyoil.
BMD CPO - SINGAPORE, March 15 (Reuters) -
Malaysian palm oil futures rose on Friday on bargain-hunting after three
straight sessions of losses, with traders expecting seasonally lower production
and firm exports to help stocks ease further.
Palm oil posted a loss of 1.3
percent for the week, weighed down by a weak soy market suffering from poor
export demand and higher South American supply.
But market participants said they
were still counting on a seasonal decline in output to help ease stocks and
support prices, especially after cargo surveyor data on Friday showed firm
export demand.
"We see some retracement in an
oversold market," said a trader with a foreign commodities brokerage in
Kuala Lumpur. "For the past few days external markets like Dalian and CBOT
soybean oil were a little weak, but they have pulled back up a bit, so our
market is adjusting to it."
The benchmark May contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange had gained 2.2 percent to 2,415
ringgit ($774) per tonne by the market close. Prices fell to 2,360 ringgit on
Thursday, the lowest level since Jan. 14.
Total traded volume stood at 35,268
lots of 25 tonnes each, higher than the usual 25,000 lots.
Exports of Malaysian palm oil
products from March 1 to 15 inched up 0.2 percent to 675,210 tonnes from
673,555 tonnes shipped during Feb. 1 to 15, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing
Services said on Friday.
Malaysia, the world's No.2 palm oil
producer, will set its crude palm oil export tax for April at 4.5 percent,
unchanged from March, a government circular showed on Friday.
In other markets, Brent crude oil
rose above $109 a barrel on Friday as strong U.S. jobs data fuelled hopes of a
better outlook for demand in the world's top oil consumer, while concerns over
supply from the Middle East added support.
In other vegetable oil markets, U.S.
soyoil for May delivery inched up 0.9 percent in late Asian trade.
The most-active September soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange also gained 1.4 percent.
Regional equities - BANGKOK, March 15 (Reuters) -
Southeast Asian stocks were mostly higher on Friday, with Indonesia snapping
three sessions of losses after the new central bank governor's view of low
interest rates, and Thailand nearly touching the 1,600 mark on progress of
infrastructure investment.
Jakarta's Composite Index finished up 0.7 percent at 4,819.32, trimming its loss on the week to 1.1
percent. It rallied almost 10 percent over the past six weeks, setting a record
close of 4,874.50 on March 8.
Thai SET index rose for the third session, ending up 0.7 percent at a 19-year closing high of
1,598.13. It gained almost 2 percent on the week, Southeast Asia's second best
performer. Vietnam led the region with a weekly gain of 2.3
percent.
Thai government's progress on plans
for huge infrastructure investment has bolstered demand, with the cabinet set
to meet next week to discuss 2 trillion baht ($67.5 billion) in spending.
Bucking the trend, Kuala Lumpur's
Composite Index lost almost 1 percent to 1,627.64, the
lowest close in more than two weeks. The Philippines eased 0.6 percent, extending losses for a fifth session, to 6,654.60.
Across the region, investors bought
stocks with good earnings and yielding good dividends. In the Philippines,
conglomerate Alliance Global Group Inc jumped 2.5 percent after it reported strong 2012 earnings.
Among bright spots, Thailand's
SkyTrain operator BTS Group Holdings Pcl jumped 3.4 percent following its plan to raise up to $2.1 billion by listing an
infrastructure fund.
