DJI - NEW YORK, Feb 4 (Reuters) - U.S.
stocks fell on Monday after a disappointing report on factory orders,
retreating from gains in the prior session that left the S&P 500 at a
five-year high and the Dow above 14,000.
The gains on Friday left the
benchmark S&P 500 roughly 60 points away from its all-time intraday high of
1,576.09 while the Dow's march above 14,000 was the highest for the index since
October 2007.
The benchmark S&P index is up 5.5 percent for the year, with nearly half of the gains coming in the
session after U.S. legislators successfully sidestepped temporarily the
"fiscal cliff" of automatic tax increases and spending cuts, which
threatened to derail the economic recovery.
"We should get a pullback.
Markets have been on a tear and they have been on a tear for good, sound
economic and earnings-driven reasons," said Peter Kenny, managing director
at Knight Capital in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Data from the Commerce Department
showed overall factory orders rose 1.8 percent during the month, below the
median forecast of 2.2 percent by analysts polled by Reuters, in a possible
sign companies may be losing faith in the economy's recovery over concerns
about deficit reduction measures that could slow the economy.
Economic data has pointed to a
modest U.S. recovery, but the data has not been strong enough to upset investor
expectations the Federal Reserve will continue its stimulus policy that has
buoyed stocks.
"We are right on that razor’s
edge, so to speak, where there is not enough robust profile in the economic
data to suggest the Fed needs to change policy, but at the same time people are
aware that there is a shelf life on this policy and as we continue to sit on
that fence, the markets move higher," said Kenny.
The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 100.00 points, or 0.71 percent, to 13,909.79. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index lost 9.35 points, or 0.62 percent, to
1,503.82. The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 15.13 points, or 0.48 percent, to 3,163.97.
According to Thomson Reuters data,
of the 256 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings through
Monday morning, 68.4 percent have reported earnings above analyst expectations
compared with the 62 percent average since 1994 and the 65 percent average over
the past four quarters.
S&P 500 fourth-quarter earnings
are expected to rise 4.4 percent, according to the data. That estimate is above
the 1.9 percent forecast at the start of earnings season, but well below the
9.9 percent fourth-quarter earnings forecast on Oct. 1.
NYMEX - LONDON, Feb 4 (Reuters) - U.S. crude
oil futures fell more than $1 per barrel on Monday as
the oil market consolidated after eight weeks of rapid rises fueled by signs of
faster global economic growth.
U.S. crude futures for March dropped
to a low of $96.73, down $1.04, but then recovered slightly to trade around
$96.85 by 1213 GMT. The contract has risen for eight consecutive weeks, the
longest such winning streak since July-August 2004.
CBOT Soybean - Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade rose 1 percent
and set a seven-week high Monday on worries about dry weather in Argentina and a strong U.S. export pace, traders said.
· Soy complex pared gains as Wall Street sagged after disappointing report on factory orders, retreating from a rally on Friday that drove the Dow to close above 14,000 points for the first time since October 2007.
· Weekend showers in crop areas of Argentina were lighter than expected and dry weather this week will allow moisture shortages to quickly increase, MDA EarthSat Weather said.
· USDA reported weekly export inspections of U.S. soybeans at 53.892 million tonnes, well above a range of trade estimates for 35 million to 45 million.
· USDA said private exporters reported sales of 116,000 tonnes of U.S. soybeans to China, with half for delivery in 2012/13 and half for 2013/14 delivery.
· Brazilian consultancy AgRural lowered its forecast for the country's soybean production to 81.2 million tonnes, down from its previous figure of 82.2 million, citing irregular rains in some growing areas.
· Analyst Celeres lowered its estimate of Brazil's soybean crop to 80.1 million tonnes, down from its January forecast of 80.84 million.
· Large speculators expanded their net long position in CBOT soybeans in the week ended Jan. 29 and trimmed their net short in CBOT soyoil, weekly data from the U.S. CFTC showed.
FCPO - SINGAPORE, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Malaysian
palm oil futures edged up on Monday and posted a fourth straight session of
gains, tracking higher soybeans and soybean oil on persistent concerns over dry
weather in Argentina.
U.S. soybeans were trading near a
six-week high despite scattered showers in Argentina in recent weeks that have
brought some relief to thirsty 2012/13 soybean crops, as many areas are still
suffering parched conditions, the Argentine agriculture ministry said.
Lower soybean and soybean oil
production could shift some demand to the cheaper palm oil, which in turn may
help ease record stocks for the tropical oil.
"It's the South American
weather that is serving as the pull factor," said a dealer with a foreign
commodities brokerage in Kuala Lumpur.
"Locally, with a continuous
wide discount in cash crude palm oil to futures, sentiment is still cautious as
traders await the expected high stocks for January."
At the close, the benchmark April
contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange
had edged up 0.3 percent to 2,564 ringgit ($831) per tonne. Prices hit a
3-month high of 2,593 ringgit on Thursday.
Total traded volumes stood at 32,005
lots of 25 tonnes each, higher than the average 25,000 tonnes.
Traders are shifting their focus to
Malaysia's palm oil stocks for January, hoping that slowing production and
better-than-expected exports will bring down record stocks of 2.63 million tonnes
recorded for December.
Malaysian palm exports in January
fell 7 percent from a month ago, said cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services,
while another surveyor, Societe Generale de Surveillance, reported a 6.4
percent fall.
That represented an improvement from
the double-digit decline seen in the first 20 days of January, as worries eased
over China's stricter regulation on edible oil imports after the first cargo
from Malaysia was discharged.
Brent crude oil consolidated above
$116 per barrel on Monday, not far off 4-1/2-month highs, on signs of improving
economic growth in the United States and China and concern over geopolitical
tension in the Middle East.
Other vegetable oil markets also
advanced on Argentine weather concerns. U.S. soyoil for March delivery gained 0.7 percent in late Asian trade. The most active September soybean oil
contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange closed
0.8 percent higher, near a three-month high.
Regional Equties - BANGKOK, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Southeast
Asian stock markets mostly gained on Monday amid positive global sentiment,
with selective buying in banks and large caps sending the Philippine and
Indonesian indexes to a record close and Thailand breaking the 1,500 barrier to
a more than 18-year high.
Outperforming the region, the
Philippine index climbed 1.9 percent to 6,435.98, topping
Friday's record finish of 6,318.61. Jakarta's Composite Index edged up 0.2 percent at 4,490.57, a record close.
Bangkok's SET index ended up 0.5 percent at 1,506.37, the highest close since November 1994 as
investors bought blue chips seen as laggards such as PTT Pcl and Kasikornbank Pcl
Banking shares such as BDO Unibank
Inc and PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia led among gainers in the Philippine and Indonesian bourses.
The Thai stock market took in foreign
inflows of 864.93 million Thai baht ($29.02 million) and Malaysian bourse
reported 218.59 million ringgit ($70.35 million) worth of inflows on Monday,
stock exchange data showed.
