DJI - NEW YORK, Jan 28 (Reuters) - The
S&P 500 eased slightly on Monday after an eight-day run of gains, while the
Nasdaq edged higher as Apple shares rebounded.
The index remained above 1,500,
however, after closing above that level on Friday for the first time in more
than five years. The S&P 500's eight sessions of gains was its longest
winning streak in eight years.
Caterpillar shares helped limit
losses on the Dow industrials even as the company posted a 55 percent drop in
quarterly profit due to a charge connected with accounting fraud at a Chinese
subsidiary and weak demand among its dealers. Caterpillar's shares, down 2.2
percent in the past three sessions, rose 2 percent Monday to $97.45.
"I think this multi-year high
is really something that's in play both for shorter-term traders and with folks
with money on the sidelines," said Bucky Hellwig, senior vice president at
BB&T Wealth Management in Birmingham, Alabama.
The Dow Jones industrial average was
down 14.05 points, or 0.10 percent, at 13,881.93. The Standard & Poor's 500
Index was down 2.78 points, or 0.18 percent, at 1,500.18. The Nasdaq Composite
Index was up 4.59 points, or 0.15 percent, at 3,154.30.
Investors poured $55 billion in new
cash into stock mutual funds and exchange-traded funds in January, the biggest
monthly inflow on record, research provider TrimTabs Investment Research said.
"What we have seen this year
is, it appears the individual investor is allocating some 401(k) money to
equities. Hopefully that's a decision that will be with us for a while,"
Hellwig said.
Data on Monday pointed to growing
economic momentum as companies sensed improved consumer demand.
U.S. durable goods orders jumped 4.6
percent in December, a pace that far outstripped expectations for a rise of 1.8
percent. Pending home sales, however, unexpectedly dropped 4.3 percent.
Analysts were looking for an increase of 0.3 percent.
Corporate earnings so far have
mostly been stronger than expected. Thomson Reuters data showed that of the 150
companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings so far, 67.3 percent
have beaten analysts' expectations, which is a higher proportion than over the
past four quarters and above the average since 1994.
NYMEX - NEW YORK, Jan 28 (Reuters) - U.S.
crude futures rose on Monday in choppy trading, lifted by supportive durable
goods data and by strong gasoline futures, which gained 2 percent in reaction
to Hess Corp's plans to shut a refinery in the Northeast.
CBOT Soybean - Jan 28 (Reuters) - Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of
Trade rose for a second straight session on Monday, lifted by uncertainty about
the likelihood of much-needed rains in Argentina, traders said.
- Soymeal followed soybeans higher while soyoil fell.
- Soybeans and corn in Argentina will endure stress from dryness in the next three days before rain is expected to fall, said Drew Lerner, president of World Weather Inc. Crop conditions will worsen if the weather stays dry in February, he added
- USDA said private exporters reported sales of 220,000 tonnes of U.S. soybeans to China for delivery in 2013/14.
- Brazil's soybean harvest was 3 percent complete as of last week, with the top two producing states of Mato Grosso and Parana at 6 percent and 5 percent respectively, analysts at Celeres said.
- Large speculators expanded their net long position in CBOT soybeans by 42 percent in the latest week, the biggest bump to their net long stake in 11-1/2 months, the supplement to CFTC's weekly commitments report showed Friday.
- The average price forecast for Chicago Board of Trade soybean
futures at the end of 2013, among 13 analysts surveyed by Reuters, was
$11.83 per bushel, a drop of 17 percent from $14.19 at the end of 2012.
FCPO - SINGAPORE, Jan 25 (Reuters) -
Malaysian palm oil futures fell on Friday, snapping four straight sessions of
gains, as weak exports and a move by India to raise its base import price of
crude palm oil prompted traders to book profits.
Exports of Malaysian palm oil
products for Jan. 1-25 fell 14 percent to 1,102,585 tonnes from 1,283,704
tonnes in the Dec. 1-25 period, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said
on Friday.
Another cargo surveyor Societe
Generale de Surveillance reported a 14.6 percent decline in shipments to
1,104,890 tonnes for the same period.
India's move to raise the base
import price of crude palm oil by nearly 80 percent also stoked concerns it
could neutralise export duty cuts by major producers Indonesia and Malaysia,
although analysts said that its effect may be more pronounced in the long run.
"We are neutral on the news, as
the crude palm oil price should have priced this in previously. However, in the
long run the new rule may prompt Indian refineries to use local crude palm oil
first before importing from Malaysia and Indonesia," said Alan Lim Seong
Chun, research analyst with Malaysia's Kenanga Investment Bank.
"Our major concern is still on
Malaysia's inventory, which we think will reach another record high of 2.66
million tonnes by end-January. This should limit price upside."
For the week, palm oil still posted
a gain of 1.9 percent, on concerns that dry weather in South America could hurt
soybean and soybean oil production, shifting some demand to the cheaper palm
oil.
Despite seasonally lower production,
market participants still fear that Malaysian palm oil stocks that hit a record
2.63 million tonnes in December could climb higher this month due to weak
exports.
Shipments to major consumer China
fell amid high port stocks and as the stricter quality rule on edible oil
imports prompted some exporters to hold back shipments. European demand also
plunged more than 50 percent on seasonal factors.
