DJI - NEW YORK, May 13 (Reuters) - U.S.
stocks closed little changed on Monday, pausing after hitting record highs last
week, but strength in healthcare issues helped to keep declines in check.
The day's flat close followed a
third straight week of gains on the major indexes, with both the Dow and
S&P 500 setting record closing highs last week. The S&P 500 remains up
14.5 percent for the year so far.
While some analysts argue the
long-term trend is still higher, many see momentum waning in the near term in
the absence of positive catalysts. Volume has been lighter than average, and
volatility has been low in recent days.
"Intraday volatility has
essentially been nonexistent. I think it means people are really sitting on the
sidelines right now seeing which way it's going to go," said Uri
Landesman, president of Platinum Partners in New York. He expects the rally to
top out in the next two weeks.
The Dow Jones industrial average ended down 26.81 points, or 0.18 percent, at 15,091.68. The Standard &
Poor's 500 Index was up 0.07 point at 1,633.77. The Nasdaq
Composite Index was up 2.21 points, or 0.06 percent, at
3,438.79.
Oils - NEW YORK, May 13 (Reuters) - Crude
oil prices settled lower on Monday after a choppy day of trading, hit by
slowing oil demand in China and data showing the biggest drop for U.S. retail
gasoline sales in more than four years.
Positive U.S. retail sales data
supported the idea that the U.S. economy was continuing to recover but it did
not apply to gasoline sales, underscoring ailing demand for the fuel. The
retail data also strengthened the U.S. dollar, which had a negative impact on
the price of crude oil.
Refinery crude throughput in China,
the world's second-largest consumer, fell 3 percent in April from March, its
lowest daily rate since last September, as refineries entered maintenance
season. Implied oil demand was up 3.2 percent in April from a year earlier to
about 9.6 million barrels per day, the lowest in eight months.
Brent crude settled down $1.09 per barrel at $102.82, after trading as low as $102.25. U.S.
oil ended the day 87 cents lower at $95.17 a
barrel, after trading as low as $94.47.
"The economic data in China is
not yet providing upward support. It is not that it is weak, it is simply not
sufficient to support a bullish trend," Harry Tchilingurian, head of
commodity market strategy at BNP Paribas, said.
U.S. retail sales edged up 0.1
percent, after a revised 0.5 percent decline in March, data from the Commerce
Department showed. Economists polled by Reuters had expected retail sales to
drop 0.3 percent last month.
CBOT Soybean - Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade rose on Monday on firm cash markets and tightening U.S. supplies, lifting
the spot contract to a six-month high, traders said.
·
The May
soybean contract rose 2.2 percent one day ahead of
its expiration, peaking at $15.27-1/4 per bushel, the highest
spot soybean price since Nov 2.
·
Nearby
soymeal contracts posted the biggest percentage gains in
the soy complex and soyoil followed the higher trend.
·
Cash bids
for soybeans were steady to sharply higher in the
eastern U.S. Midwest as farmers delayed sales and deliveries of
old-crop supplies and focused on planting their new crop.
·
Light
rains at mid-week will slow fieldwork in parts of the U.S.
Midwest, with heavier rains to follow early next week, an
agricultural meteorologist said. Conditions should favor active
planting early this week.
·
Ahead of
the USDA's weekly crop progress report later on Monday, a
Reuters survey of analysts pegged U.S. soybean planting
progress by May 12 at 10 percent, up from 2 percent a week ago.
Estimates ranged from 7 percent to 13 percent complete.
·
USDA
reported export inspections of U.S. soybeans in the latest
week at 3.351 million bushels, within a range of trade estimates
for 3 million to 6 million.
BMD CPO - SINGAPORE, May 13 (Reuters) -
Malaysian palm oil futures eased from a one-month high on Monday as worries
about weak exports prompted profit-taking and offset initial gains driven by
slowing inventory levels.
Edible oil futures got off to a
strong start as traders priced in a drop of 11.3 percent in Malaysia's
end-April palm oil stocks to 1.93 million tonnes from a month earlier.
But lacklustre export demand later
weighed down prices. Palm exports slid 18.4 percent to 377,193 tonnes for the
first 10 days of May from a month earlier, on slowing demand from Europe and
China, cargo surveyor Societe Generale de Surveillance said last Friday.
"The Malaysian palm oil stock
finally crossed below the 2-million-tonne mark, which is positive for the crude
palm oil price as it is an indication that stocks have normalised," said
Ivy Ng, senior research analyst at Malaysia's CIMB Investment Bank.
"But this was offset by the 18
percent drop in palm oil exports for the first 10 days of May," she added.
"We suspect the weaker exports may be due to higher demand for Indonesian
palm oil ... and slower demand from China due to high stocks at the
ports."
The benchmark July contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange lost 0.4 percent to close at 2,309
ringgit ($771) per tonne, and off an earlier high of 2,341 ringgit, a level
last seen on April 12.
Total traded volumes stood at 20,607
lots of 25 tonnes each, lower than the average 35,000 lots.
Stagnant production growth in April
led to a bigger decline in Malaysian stocks than expected, and analysts said
slowing output growth could continue to trim stocks this month, and support
crude prices.
"Looking forward, we believe
stocks could fall 5 percent month-on-month to 1.84 million tonnes by May. The
trend of declining inventory is supportive," said Alan Lim Seong Chun, a
research analyst with Malaysia's Kenanga Investment Bank.
In other markets, crude prices
slipped towards $103 a barrel on Monday as oil demand in the world's
second-largest consumer China fell to eight-month lows, weighing on the global
outlook for the fuel.
In vegetable oil markets, U.S.
soyoil for July delivery fell 0.2 percent in late Asian trade. The
most-active September soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange rose 0.4 percent.
