DJI - NEW YORK, April 16 (Reuters) - U.S.
stocks jumped more than 1 percent on Tuesday, a day after their worst decline
since November, as gold prices rebounded and earnings from Coca-Cola and
Johnson & Johnson improved the outlook for first-quarter results.
Inflation data, which reinforced
expectations that the Federal Reserve will keep its stimulus plan in place,
added to bullish sentiment.
The price of gold jumped 1 percent
after its record daily drop in dollar terms on Monday. The SPDR Gold Shares ETF
,
which fell 8.8 percent on record volume Monday, rose 1.1 percent to $132.80.
The S&P 500 materials index climbed 1.9 percent, leading the benchmark S&P 500 higher.
The market's advance followed the
S&P 500's drop of more than 2 percent drop on Monday, giving the index its
worst one-day percentage loss since Nov. 7. The S&P 500 is up 10.4 percent
since the start of the year after enjoying a strong first-quarter run, partly
as a result of the Fed's continued stimulus efforts.
"Yesterday I think was a bit
out of line ... But I think the trend is that the market is consolidating, that
we're going to see a little bit of a pullback here over the next month and a
half or so, and then we'll get on to greener pastures," said Brian Amidei,
managing director at HighTower Advisors in Palm Desert, California.
S&P 500 earnings are now
expected to have risen 1.8 percent in the first quarter, based on actual
results from 42 companies and estimates for the rest, up from a recent estimate
of 1.1 percent growth.
The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 157.58 points, or 1.08 percent, to close at 14,756.78. The Standard
& Poor's 500 Index gained 22.21 points, or 1.43 percent, to
finish at 1,574.57. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 48.14 points, or 1.50 percent, to end at 3,264.63.
On Monday, a drop in the price of
gold and other commodities triggered a sharp selloff in stocks. But stocks fell
further late in the session after news of two fatal explosions near the finish
line of the Boston Marathon.
Oils - NEW YORK, April 16 (Reuters) - Brent
crude fell below $100 a barrel for the first time in nine months in heavy
trading on Tuesday, extending losses triggered by data from China and the
United States that suggested little growth in global oil demand.
Both Brent and U.S. crude pared
losses in afternoon trading after each fell more than $2 earlier, suggesting
the low prices could be luring back traders, analysts said.
"We are still seeing some
weakness in price, in contrast to a number of markets that are snapping back to
the upside with more vigor. That’s because we still have a lot of oil,"
said Tim Evans, an energy futures specialist at Citi Futures Perspectives in
New York.
The spread between Brent crude and
U.S. crude narrowed by nearly $1 to $10.88 after widening to as much as $11.93
during the trading session, and down from a $23 spread in February.
LIMITED DEMAND PROSPECTS
A powerful earthquake that struck
southeast Iran sending strong tremors across the region, raised concerns it
might damage oil production, which put a floor under oil prices, traders said.
Brent crude on Monday dropped about
3 percent in a wider commodities rout after data showed economic growth in
China, the world's second-largest oil consumer, had slowed unexpectedly in the
first three months of 2013.
Underscoring recent worries, the
International Monetary Fund on Tuesday shaved projections for global economic
growth for this year and next on the back of spending cuts in the United States
and Europe.
CBOT Soybean - Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade closed higher on Tuesday on bargain buying after selling off a day
earlier, with firm U.S. cash markets lending additional support as old-crop soybean supplies dwindle.
·
New-crop
November soybeans rallied after setting a 10-month
low early in the session.
·
Bull-spreading
was an early feature, with the May/November soybean
spread reaching $2.02, May's biggest premium in a
month. However, the inverted May/July spread had weakened
by the close.
·
U.S.
equity markets rose one day after the worst decline since
November. Gold made a modest recovery and government data on
inflation and housing signaled an improving economy.
·
Worries about
bird flu reducing feed demand in China continue
to hang over the market. China's poultry sector has lost more
than $1.6 billion since reports emerged two weeks ago of a new
strain of bird flu, an official at the country's National
Poultry Industry Association said.
·
The slow
start of exports from South America's new soybean crop in
March and April may compel China to buy more U.S. soybeans
in coming weeks, oilseeds analysts Oil World said.
·
South
American soybean crop forecasts by the U.S. Department
of Agriculture are too optimistic and do not sufficiently
take into account recent poor crop weather - Oil World.
BMD CPO - SINGAPORE, April 16 (Reuters) -
Malaysian palm oil futures ended flat on Tuesday, as a recent commodities rout
that dented investors' appetite for riskier assets offset earlier gains on
bargain hunting.
Gold fell to its lowest in more than
two years and Brent crude dropped below $100 per barrel for the first time
since July as a shaky global economic outlook drove investors to liquidate
assets, extending a sell-off in commodities into a third day.
The weak sentiment spread to the
vegetable oil markets, with palm oil falling to a low of 2,281 ringgit per
tonne on Monday its weakest since December, and
the most active Dalian soybean oil contract tumbling to the lowest since
its initiation.
"The market is quiet today due
to uncertain factors in the external markets. Prices look to be supported at
the 2,250 ringgit level and face resistance at 2,320 ringgit," said a
trader with foreign commodities brokerage in Malaysia.
The new benchmark July contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange ended flat at 2,301 ringgit ($757)
per tonne.
Total traded volumes stood at 40,241
lots of 25 tonnes each, higher than the average 35,000 lots.
Malaysian palm oil shipments for the
first half of the month fell by 4 percent from a month ago, said one cargo
surveyor Intertek Testing Services, while another surveyor Societe Generale de
Surveillance reported a steeper 7.2 percent drop.
Market participants will be keeping
a close watch on the next export data for the April 1 to 20 period to gauge
stocks level. A 10 percent increase in shipments in March helped ease inventory
level to 2.17 million tonnes, the lowest in seven months.
In other markets, Brent crude sank
below $100 a barrel for the first time in nine months on Tuesday in a broad
commodities rout after recent weak data from China and the United States
spurred worries about oil demand.
In other vegetable oil markets, U.S.
soyoil for May delivery gained 0.8 percent in late Asian trade. The
most-active September soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange recouped some losses after falling as much
as 2.4 percent earlier.
Regional Equities - April 16 (Reuters) - Most of
Southeast Asian markets ended firmer on Tuesday, led by Indonesia and Thailand
as hopes over the region's economic growth in the face of a slowdown in Chinese
economy helped investors to acquire risky assets.
Overall stock indexes in Malaysia,
Indonesia, Singapore, and the Philippines are hovering at their near peak, but
investor appetite for the region's stocks still remained robust.
HSBC Global Research in a note said
weaker-than-expected Chinese economic data will have lesser impact of the ASEAN
economies including Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam.
"Here, the main growth driver
at the moment is local demand, supported by a strong leverage cycle and, in the
cases of Malaysia and Thailand, generous fiscal policy," it said.
"To be sure, exports of raw
materials to China play a role for Malaysia and Indonesia, but a marginal
slowing of these is likely to be offset by the monetary stimulus recently
provided by the Bank of Japan."
Jakarta's Composite index jumped more than 1 percent to close at its highest since April 3, when the
index hit a record closing high, while Malaysia ended up 0.2 percent to a near one-week peak, helped by $81.84 million net
foreign inflow.
Thailand gained 0.7 percent to its highest since April 2, while Singapore edged up 0.2 percent.
Economists have argued that markets
were ripe for some correction after recent rallies, but have been taken aback
by the sudden plunge in commodities, triggered by weak data from China and the
United States that have sparked fresh concerns about the strength of economic
recovery.
On Monday, the price of gold bullion
tumbled another $125 per ounce in its biggest-ever daily loss, and its 9
percent loss was the biggest since 1983.
Bucking the trend, the Philippines,
the region's best performer with 16.8 percent gain for this year, lost 0.8
percent and Vietnam eased 0.4 percent on concerns over
macroeconomy, margin calls and losses in global markets.
