DJI - NEW YORK, April 1 (Reuters) - U.S.
stocks fell on Monday in one of the lightest volume days of the year, pulling
back after the S&P 500's record closing high last week and after
weaker-than-expected U.S. manufacturing data.
Data
showed U.S. factory activity grew at the slowest rate in three months in March,
suggesting the economy lost some momentum at the end of the first quarter.
Recent data that has pointed to a
strengthening U.S. economy has helped push stocks to record highs on both the
Dow and S&P 500. The S&P 500 ended March with a record closing high and
posted its best quarterly performance in a year, while the Dow broke into new
record territory in early March.
"It was very difficult for the
S&P 500 technically to break through that high level and to even close
there, so it doesn't surprise me that today is a down day," said Brian
Amidei, managing director at HighTower Advisors in Palm Desert, California.
"I think there's a lot of resistance at the 1,565 level."
With the strong start to the year,
many investors have been anticipating a pullback. Uncertainty over the economic
future of Cyprus has weighed on stocks in recent sessions. European markets
were closed on Monday for a holiday.
The benchmark S&P index remains
below its record intraday high of 1,576.09. Moves may be limited this week in
the absence of major catalysts before the closely watched U.S. monthly payrolls
report on Friday.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 5.69 points, or 0.04 percent, at 14,572.85. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index was down 7.02 points, or 0.45 percent, at
1,562.17. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 28.35 points, or 0.87 percent, at 3,239.17.
Volume was second-lowest of the
year, with roughly 5.16 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange,
the Nasdaq and the NYSE MKT. That compares with the 2012 average daily closing
volume of about 6.45 billion. Decliners outpaced advancers on the NYSE by
nearly 7 to 3 and on the Nasdaq by nearly 3 to 1.
Oils - NEW YORK, April 1 (Reuters) - Brent
crude rose above $111 a barrel in choppy trading on Monday as Saudi Arabia
predicted robust demand from Asia, while U.S. crude prices fell as a pipeline
leak in Arkansas threatened to increase the glut of oil in the U.S. Midwest.
The
shut pipeline compounds expectations of a 2.3 million- barrel rise in crude oil
stocks in the United States last week, a provisional poll of analysts and
traders by Reuters showed.
"It’s kind of a landlocked
situation," said Thomas Mooney, president of Southeast Energy, Inc.
"They’re making more crude in the Midwest than they can use."
Rising U.S. production, imports from
Canada, and limited pipeline flows from the Midwest to the Gulf Coast have
weighed on U.S. crude prices relative to seaborne benchmark Brent, causing the
prices of the two main oil contracts to diverge.
After dipping in early trade, Brent
crude for May delivery recovered, rising $1.06 to settle at
$111.08 a barrel and closing above the 200-day moving average of $110.06, a key
technical indicator watched by traders.
The spread between the Brent and
U.S. crude contracts moved back above $14 a barrel after
slipping to $12.32 in early trade, the narrowest spread since July.
SAUDI EXPORTS
Demand for Saudi crude is likely to
rise over the next few months, Saudi oil minister Ali Al-Naimi said on Monday,
signaling that the world's largest oil exporter sees a recovery in its biggest
export market, Asia.
"The data came in below market
expectations, which could indicate that oil demand growth may not expand quite
as quickly," said Carl Larry, president of Oil Outlooks and Opinion, based
in Houston.
"But China's still growing, and
that continues to be an underlying support factor long term for the market.
Whether they are at 6 percent or 7 percent, they are growing."
Saudi Arabia, OPEC's leading
producer and holder of the world's only significant spare output capacity, cut
its output by around 700,000 bpd over the last two months of 2012, helping
drive a rise in crude prices from early December to February.
Disappointing economic data from
Asia and the United States kept Brent's price gains in check during Monday's
session.
China's official purchasing managers
index (PMI) came in at 50.9, the highest in 11 months, but economists expected
bigger recovery from February's five-month low.
CBOT Soybean - Spot soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade fell to a near three-month low on followthrough selling from last week's bearish U.S. grain and soy stocks report,
traders said.
·
Goldman
Sachs lowered its three-month price forecast for CBOT
soybeans to $13.50 from $14, and its six- and 12-month forecasts
to $12.50 from $13, citing larger-than-expected U.S. March 1
grain stocks data. Goldman also cut price forecasts for corn and
wheat.
·
Additional
pressure from weakness in other commoditie such as
copper after surveys showed U.S. and Chinese manufacturing
in March expanded less than economists had expected.
·
Soyoil
ended nearly flat, gaining against soymeal on oil/meal
spreading. Firming cash values for soyoil amid a slowing
U.S. crush pace and increased demand for biodiesel supported
soyoil, while cash demand for soymeal is slowing.
·
Basis bids
for soybeans shipped by barge to the U.S. Gulf were
steady to higher on Monday on a seasonal slowdown in old-crop
export demand and weaker futures prices.
·
USDA
reported export inspections of U.S. soybeans in the latest
week at 16.3 million bushels, within a range of trade expectations
for 12 million to 19 million bushels.
BMD CPO - SINGAPORE, April 1 (Reuters) -
Malaysian palm oil futures slipped to their lowest in nearly three months on
Monday as larger-than-expected U.S. soybean stockpiles continued to weigh on
markets, although losses were capped by a marginal increase in exports.
Malaysia's palm oil shipments for
March edged up 2.8 percent to 1.36 million tonnes compared to a month ago,
driven by higher exports of refined products, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing
Services said on Monday.
Another cargo surveyor Societe
Generale de Surveillance reported a 5.5 percent increase to 1.37 million tonnes
for the month.
But the market continued to feel the
weight of the larger-than-expected soybean stocks reported by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA). Plentiful soybeans for crushing into oil may
divert some demand away from competing palm oil.
"It looks like the USDA's
bearish stock level is still leading palm," said a Singapore-based trader
with a global commodities house. "A marginal increase in exports is not
enough to counter the bearishness ... I think we will have to see how low the
production cycle is going to be in order to have some supportive news."
By market close, the benchmark June
contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange
had lost 1.8 percent to 2,336 ringgit ($756) per tonne. Prices earlier fell to
2,335 ringgit, a level last seen on Jan. 11.
Total traded volume stood at 31,364
lots of 25 tonnes each, compared to the average 35,000 lots seen so far this
year.
A slight increase in exports and
seasonal slowdown in production could trigger a further decline in Malaysia's
palm oil stockpiles in March. Official data on inventory levels will be
released next week.
In other markets, Brent crude eased
to under $110 a barrel on Monday after Chinese manufacturing data missed market
expectations, signalling possibly slower demand growth in the world's
second-largest oil consumer.
In vegetable oil markets, U.S.
soyoil for May delivery lost 1.3 percent in late Asian trade. The
most-active September soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange edged 1.4 percent lower.
Regional Equities - BANGKOK, April 1 (Reuters) -
Southeast Asian stock markets ended mostly lower on Monday with Indonesia and
the Philippines coming off record highs amid subdued trading in the region as
some Asian markets were still closed for Easter holidays.
After a choppy session, Jakarta's
Composite Index finished down 0.07 percent at 4,937.57,
erasing earlier gain from an intraday record high of 4,953.39. The Philippine
index eased 0.12 percent to 6,839.59.
Philippine shares ended the first
quarter at a record high of 6,847.47 after the country won its first-ever
investment grade rating from Fitch Ratings, which analysts said could possibly
attract more capital inflows.
Fitch also revised Support Rating
Floors of eight Philippine banks after the sovereign upgrade.
Investors and analysts said any
boost to local bonds, stocks or the peso is likely to be mild for now.
Thailand's SET index fell 0.7 percent to 1,549.55, the worst performer on the day, led by PTT Pcl .
Energy stocks were broadly weak as global oil prices eased after Chinese
manufacturing data missed expectations.
Bucking the trend, the Ho Chi Minh Stock
Exchange's VN Index jumped 3 percent to 505.81 as investors
bought blue chips on solid earnings in the first quarter.
