DJI - NEW YORK, March 13 (Reuters) - U.S.
stocks edged up on Wednesday, with the Dow rising for the ninth straight
session to another record, buoyed by surprisingly strong retail sales that
suggested the economy is gaining momentum.
The Dow Jones industrial average's
nine-day winning streak is the longest consecutive run since November 1996.
But trading volume was light. Moves
have been muted in recent days as investors consolidate positions after a
strong run-up in the first three months of the year. Still, weakness in stocks
has been met with buying, which helped propel the market's advance.
The broader S&P 500 is within
striking distance of its all-time closing high of 1,565.15 and about 1 percent
away from all-time intraday high of 1,576.09 - both set in 2007.
"I think we will soon see the
S&P at all-time high levels. I don't think the market has topped yet, and
there is still strength to move the market higher," said Ari Wald,
technical strategist at C&Co/PrinceRidge in New York.
"Will we see a correction of 10
percent or so soon? Not imminently. We have not seen a divergence of behavior
yet where participants become more selective on which stocks to buy."
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 5.22 points, or 0.04 percent, to 14,455.28, another record closing high.
The Standard & Poor's 500 Index advanced 2.04 points, or 0.13 percent, to 1,554.52. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 2.80 points, or 0.09 percent, to end at 3,245.12.
Signs of strength in the economy and
the Federal Reserve's easy monetary policy have helped U.S. equities accelerate
their advance. The blue-chip Dow is up 10.3 percent for the year and the
benchmark S&P 500 index has gained 9 percent.
Wednesday's retail sales report
reinforced the view that the U.S. economy has momentum, even with the obstacles
the recovery is facing. Sales increased 1.1 percent in February, the largest
increase since September.
Investors had been looking for signs
of any impact on spending from stubbornly high unemployment and a higher
payroll tax that went into effect at the start of the year.
Brent Crude Oil - NEW YORK, March 12 (Reuters) - Brent crude oil fell on Tuesday
after seesawing with the euro and the dollar, and as OPEC's trimmed forecast
for U.S. and euro zone economic growth also applied pressure.
Brent April crude fell 57 cents, or
0.52 percent, to settle at $109.65 a barrel, having traded from $109.30 to
$111.20.
CBOT Soybean - Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade fell 1.5
percent on technical selling and talk of slowing demand from top
global soy buyer China, traders said.
* The most-active May soybean contract fell for a second straight session, dropping below its 20-day moving average to settle at its lowest level since March 1.
·
Market
pressured by weakening cash soybean bids in the U.S.
Pacific Northwest, which signaled a slowdown in export demand as
the South American harvest progresses. Cash bids for soybeans
shipped by barge to the U.S. Gulf also eased.
·
Nearby
soybean contracts lost to back months on spreads, eroding some
of the premiums that shorter-dated contracts have built up
amid concerns about historically tight U.S. supplies.
·
The spring
weather pattern for the United States looks greatly
improved from a year ago, when drought was both widespread
and severe, AccuWeather said in its 2013 U.S. spring weather
outlook.
·
Losses in
soyoil limited by firming U.S. cash values.
·
Egypt's
Meditrade issued an international tender to purchase
up to 15,000 tonnes of soyoil and 15,000 tonnes of sunflower
oil, European traders said.
·
CBOT said
deliveries against March futures included five contracts
of soybeans, one for soymeal and three for soyoil.
BMD CPO - SINGAPORE, March 13 (Reuters) -
Malaysian palm oil futures slipped to a two-month low on Wednesday as weakness
persisted in overseas soybean markets, although traders said easing palm oil
output should provide some support.
U.S. soybean prices have been
pressured by weak export demand, which also weighed on soybean oil, with
China's soybean oil losing more than 3 percent so far this week.
Palm oil tends to track soybean oil
prices closely as the commodities are used as substitutes for one another. But
traders said a decline in production in February that may continue this month
could provide some support for palm oil prices.
"Liquidation persists in
futures, although some traders think it is funds-related," said a trader
with a commodities brokerage in Malaysia. "The well-advertised supply
constraints should keep fundamentals intact."
By Wednesday's close, the benchmark
May contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange
had dropped 0.6 percent to 2,397 ringgit ($773) per tonne, slightly above its
intraday low of 2,365 ringgit, a level unseen since January 14.
Total traded volume stood at 31,784
lots of 25 tonnes each, higher than the usual 25,000 lots.
But despite short-term weakness,
market participants said palm oil fundamentals remained intact, on hopes that
stocks will continue to ease on lower production and a demand recovery.
Malaysian palm oil stocks fell to
2.44 million tonnes in February from 2.58 million in January, thanks largely to
a near 20 percent drop in production.
Export demand for the March 1-10
period was flat with a month ago, with traders now shifting their focus to the
March 1-15 data due on Friday for a better indication of the demand trend.
Crude palm oil shipments fell by
more than half after Malaysia raised its export tax for the grade to 4.5
percent from zero percent. Top rival Indonesia increased its tariff to 10.5
percent from 9 percent for the month.
In other markets, Brent futures
eased on Wednesday as Asian equities lost ground on concerns their recent rally
was running out of steam, but expectations of steady global consumption growth
and a surprise fall in U.S. stockpiles held the benchmark above $109 a barrel.
In other vegetable oil markets, U.S.
soyoil for May delivery edged down 0.4 percent in late Asian trade.
The most-active September soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange lost 1.8 percent.
Regional Equities - BANGKOK, March 13 (Reuters) -
Southeast Asian stock markets ended mostly lower on Wednesday as weaknesses in
Asia weighed on appetite for risk assets, with losses in large-caps and
financials pulling Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia down to their lowest close
in nearly a week.
Singapore' Straits Times Index was down 0.4 percent at 3288.52, paring gains from the past two sessions.
Jakarta's Composite Index (JCI) slid 0.4 percent to 4,835.44, playing catch-up with regional losses, after
being shut on Tuesday.
CIMB strategists maintained an
'overweight' rating on Indonesia and kept its JCI index target at 5,100,
reflecting its earnings upgrades of listed firms.
"An upward earnings revision
for the second month in a row in February by 1 percent was rewarded with an
impressive 8 percent gain in the JCI during the month," they wrote in a
report dated March 12.
"We stay overweight for now,
betting on further earnings upside. Our March picks center mainly on mid- and
small-cap growth and value stocks in property and banking," it said.
Shares in PT Bank Mandiri Persero
Tbk, among CIMB's top picks in March, eased
0.5 percent to 9,900 rupiah. The stock hit a record close of 10,050 rupiah on
Feb. 28.
Kuala Lumpur's Composite Index ,
Asia's worst performer this year, fell 0.6 percent to 1,646.22. Among losers,
CIMB Group Holdings Bhd shed nearly 2 percent.
In Singapore, Keppel Corp Ltd was down 1.1 percent after the world's largest builder of offshore oil rigs
lost a deal worth $1.2 billion.
After a rangebound session, the Thai index ended up 0.13 percent at 1,578.70, a new 19-year closing high. The Philippine
index was down 0.15 percent at 6,776.56 while
Vietnam fell for a second day, down 0.5 percent.