DJI - NEW YORK, April 2 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday, led by the healthcare sector after a government decision on payment rates, while factory orders data confirmed the economy is steadily improving.
The S&P 500 closed at another record high, though it fell short of breaking above its all-time intraday high of 1,576.09. The Dow also ended at another record high.
The U.S. government dropped plans to cut payments for private Medicare Advantage insurers and instead said it would allow a 3.3 percent raise. The news boosted shares of some health insurers, including Humana, which derives about two-thirds of its revenue from Medicare Advantage business.
"They didn't expect the result
that they got. That will help with their bottom line," said Quincy Krosby,
market strategist at Prudential Financial in Newark, New Jersey.
Strengthening U.S. data has helped
stocks rally since the start of the year. On Tuesday, U.S. data showed February
factory orders rose 3 percent, slightly above expectations. That follows a weak
reading on U.S. manufacturing on Monday that sparked a pullback in stocks.
The S&P 500 is now up 10.1
percent since the start of the year.
For the day, the Dow Jones
industrial average was up 89.16 points, or 0.61 percent, at
14,662.01. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 8.08 points, or 0.52 percent, at 1,570.25. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 15.69 points, or 0.48 percent, at 3,254.86.
Oils - NEW YORK, April 2 (Reuters) - Brent
crude oil settled lower and U.S. crude settled slightly higher on Tuesday as
traders weighed concerns about demand and the possibility of a prolonged
pipeline outage in the U.S. Midwest.
Brent crude oil rose early, then reversed to fall as much as $1 a barrel, before settling down
39 cents a barrel at $110.69. The session low of $110 a barrel was below the
200-day moving average of $110.17.
U.S. crude fell in the morning, then rebounded to settle up 12 cents at $97.19.
The Brent-U.S. crude spread narrowed in choppy trading to settle at $13.50 a barrel, after widening to as
much as $14.66 during the session.
Traders said the pipeline problem is
likely to keep crude oil bottled up in the Midwest, depressing prices, as
stockpiles of oil should build up near the delivery point of the U.S. crude oil
benchmark contract in Cushing, Oklahoma.
Late on Tuesday, the American
Petroleum Institute released data showing U.S. crude oil stocks rose 4.7
million barrels for the week ended March 29, higher than the 2.2 million
predicted by a Reuters analyst poll.
At Cushing, stocks were down 287,000
barrels. But traders said they may well rise in next week's data after the
Pegasus pipeline spill. Gasoline stocks decreased 5 million barrels while
distillate stocks fell 1.85 million barrels, both larger declines than
anticipated.
CBOT Soybean - Nearby soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade ended higher Tuesday on bargain buying after sliding to a near three-month low on fund selling and larger-than-expected
U.S. stockpiles, traders said.
·
Trade was
choppy. Front-month soybeans fell to $13.86 a
bushel, the lowest spot price since Jan. 7, before rallying.
·
Soymeal
posted the biggest gains in the complex, gaining against
soyoil on meal/oil spreading. Strength in soymeal helped lift
nearby soybean contracts.
·
Deferred
soybean contracts were pressured by ideas of increased
U.S. plantings this spring as soybean prices gain relative
to corn, and as cool weather and forecasts for rain threaten
to delay fieldwork in the Midwest.
·
The worst
of the delays in Brazilian soybean exports due to
transport bottlenecks are probably over and the country's shipments
are likely to increase in coming weeks, Hamburg-based oilseeds
analysts Oil World said.
·
Global
palm oil demand is set to rise in coming months because of
attractive prices and plentiful supplies compared to rival oils
such as soyoil - Oil World.
·
South
Korea's Major Feedmill Group and Feed Leaders' Committee
bought 110,000 tonnes of soymeal, all likely to be sourced
from South America in separate deals, European traders said.
BMD CPO Futures - SINGAPORE, April 2 (Reuters) -
Malaysian palm oil futures rebounded on Tuesday on bargain hunting after the
edible oil fell to nearly a three-month low the previous day, while
expectations that firm exports could help ease stocks further also provided
support.
Palm oil fell to its lowest since
Jan. 11 on Monday after the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported a
larger-than-expected soybean stockpile, burnishing prospects that soybean oil
supply could erode demand for palm oil.
But traders took comfort from rising
palm oil exports that could help trim inventories in Malaysia, the world's
second largest palm producer, where stocks stood at 2.44 million tonnes at the
end of February.
"Today we see a technical
bounce from an oversold market," said a dealer with a foreign commodities
brokerage in Malaysia. "Slightly better export figures may improve expectation
of lower stocks, but we need to watch out because the export rise could be due
to more working days in March, compared to February."
By the market close, the benchmark
June contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange
had gained 1.9 percent to 2,382 ringgit ($772) per tonne. Prices fee as low as
2,335 ringgit on Monday, the lowest in almost three months.
Total traded volume stood at 34,406
lots of 25 tonnes each, a tad lower than the average 35,000 lots seen so far
this year.
Malaysia's exports of palm oil
products inched up 2.8 percent in March to 1.36 million tonnes from a month
ago, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said on Monday, marking the first
monthly rise in four months.
Another cargo surveyor, Societe
Generale de Surveillance, reported a steeper 5.5 percent increase to 1.37
million tonnes. Firm exports raised hopes that palm oil stocks may have eased
at a faster pace in March.
Official data on palm oil stocks,
output and exports from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board, the industry regulator,
will be released on April 10.
In other markets, Brent crude edged
above $111 a barrel on Tuesday as prospects of stronger appetite in Asia
countered concerns over the pace of economic recovery in top consumer the
United States.
In vegetable oil markets, U.S.
soyoil for May delivery gained 0.4 percent in late Asian trade. The
most active September soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange also inched up 0.2 percent.
Regional Equities - BANGKOK, April 2 (Reuters) -
Malaysian stocks climbed 1.04 percent on Tuesday, outperforming other Southeast
Asian stocks, amid expectations of a likely removal of political overhang,
while Philippine shares fell for a second day as investors booked profits after
the recent rally in large caps.
Kuala Lumpur's Composite Index closed at 1,685, the highest since January 15, with trading volumes more than
double the 30-day average. It was among Asia's worst performers this year as
election-related risks worried domestic investors.
Banks were among actively traded
stocks, with Malayan Banking Bhd up 1.2 percent and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd up 0.9 percent.
Nomura Equity Research upgraded
Malaysia banks to 'overweight', citing their underperformance compared with
other banks in the Southeast Asian region and a likely removal of political
overhang post the upcoming elections.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak
announced bonuses for the 40,000 employees of national oil firm Petronas,
signalling a long wait for a general election is nearly over as he seeks
last-minute support from the middle class.
Foreign investors bought a net
428.15 million ringgit ($138.39 million) in Malaysian stocks, the bourse data
showed, extending buying in April to a second straight session and after buying
shares worth $2.9 billion in the first quarter.
Philippine index fell 1.3 percent to 6,748.43.
After a rangebound session,
Singapore's Straits Times Index edged up 0.3 percent while Thai SET index ended nearly unchanged. Jakarta's Composite Index rose 0.4 percent to a new record close of 4,957.25.
Vietnam's benchmark Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange
VN Index rose for the third consecutive day, up 0.7
percent as domestic and foreign funds bought blue chips on solid earnings and
in hopes of lower lending rates.