DJI - NEW YORK, April 8 (Reuters) - U.S.
stocks ended a volatile session higher on Monday as investors looked ahead to
an earnings season expected to show modest growth despite concerns about the
economy's health.
Wall Street fluctuated between
positive and negative territory for much of the day before climbing in the
final hour of trading, ending near its session highs. However, volume was light
and the Dow's gains were limited by a selloff of Johnson & Johnson shares.
Forecasts for first-quarter earnings
have been scaled back in 2013, with profits seen rising just 1.6 percent from
the year-ago quarter, according to Thomson Reuters data. In January, earnings
were seen rising 4.3 percent.
The drop in expectations has come as
economic figures suggest the recovery could be less robust than some had
thought. Weak corporate results could give investors further reasons to sell,
pushing both the Dow and the S&P 500 back from recent all-time closing
highs.
"We're waiting for earnings for
evidence that the market can be supported at these levels," said Jim
Dunigan, chief investment officer at PNC Wealth Management in Philadelphia.
"We will see growth in earnings, but clearing the expectations bar could
be difficult, which could give us reason to pause."
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 48.23 points, or 0.33 percent, to 14,613.48 at the close. The Standard
& Poor's 500 Index gained 9.79 points, or 0.63 percent, to
1,563.07. The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 18.39 points, or 0.57 percent, to close at 3,222.25.
Stocks have rallied strongly this
year with major indexes hitting record highs, helped in part by the Federal
Reserve's stimulus program. The S&P 500 is up 9.6 percent for the year so
far, while the Dow has gained 11.5 percent.
"A lot of the momentum we had
in the first quarter was based on improving economic news, and the jobs report
really took the wind out of our sails," said Dunigan, who helps oversee
$116 billion in assets. "We're still trying to sift through what that
means for our prospects going forward."
Oils - NEW YORK, April 8 (Reuters) - Oil
prices edged higher on Monday, lifted by gains in gasoline futures and strong
selling of the spread between Brent crude and U.S. crude.
Brent's premium to U.S. West Texas
Intermediate futures settled at $11.30 a barrel, after narrowing
to just over $11 in afternoon trade, the lowest level since June.
The move extended a trend that has
knocked $12 off the key spread since February because of the start-up of new
pipeline capacity that will alleviate a glut of crude at the Cushing, Oklahoma,
hub for the U.S. contract. In addition, supply concerns around Brent-related
crude have eased, weakening the futures contract relative to U.S. oil.
"Improved output of North Sea
production and the expected increases later in the year, and the displacement
of West African Barrels that were previously bound for the U.S. which are now
competing with North Sea barrels for Asian market share," are all
contributing to an increase in Brent supply, said John Kilduff, a partner at
Again Capital LLC, referring to the decline in U.S. dependence upon North Sea
and West African crude which is redirecting those barrels to Asia.
Analysts said the sharp sell off in
the spread seen over the past two sessions, from over $13 a barrel last
Thursday, could be short-lived, however, and that it may be poised for a
rebound.
Outright prices were choppy, with
Brent May crude settling up 54 cents at $104.66 a barrel,
after reaching a session high of $105.55. Brent hit an eight-month low of
$103.62 per barrel on Friday after disappointing U.S. jobs data, and traders
said the downtrend could resume again once the market had consolidated.
U.S. May crude settled up 66 cents at $93.36, peaking at $93.75 early Monday following the 4.6
percent week-on-week slide registered on Friday.
CBOT Soybean - Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade ended higher on bargain buying after a three-session slide that sent spot prices to a 10-month low last week, traders said.
·
The
nine-day relative strength index for May soybeans fell to 25 by Friday, within the technically
oversold range of
zero to 30. The RSI rose to 35 by Monday's close.
·
Soyoil
posted the biggest gains in the soy complex on a percentage
basis, supported by general strength in the cash soyoil market
due to demand from biodiesel producers.
·
USDA
reported export inspections of U.S. soybeans in the latest
week at 15.251 million bushels, within a range of trade estimates
for 12 million to 16 million.
·
Worries
about a slowdown in feed demand due to bird flu in China, the
world's biggest soy buyer, hung over the market. The World
Health Organization said the strain of bird flu is no cause for
panic, while the number of people infected rose to 24, with seven
deaths.
·
Underscoring
the bird flu worries, benchmark September soymeal
futures on China's Dalian exchange declined Monday for
a fifth straight session although soybeans and soyoil ended
higher.
BMD CPO - KUALA LUMPUR, April 8 (Reuters) -
Malaysian palm oil futures edged up to more than one-week highs in thin trade
on Monday as investors pinned their hopes on stockpiles having eased further in
March, signalling stronger demand for the tropical oil, although the ringgit's
recent rise capped gains.
Traders are looking ahead to the
Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) data on March's inventory levels, due on
Wednesday, to help gauge supply and demand fundamentals.
A Reuters poll forecast Malaysia's
palm oil stocks in March to have edged lower to 2.35 million tonnes as
production likely eased 1.2 percent from a month ago.
Stocks stood at 2.44 million tonnes
at the end of February, down from a record 2.63 million tonnes at the end of
December.
"The market is kind of slow
today prior to the MPOB data, but should be supportive because we're expecting
stocks to reduce," said a trader with a foreign commodities brokerage in
Malaysia.
But a strong ringgit will make
margins turn worse for refiners, the trader said. "Most likely refiners
will opt to stay on the sidelines, because if they buy CPO the margins will be
very negative," the trader said.
By Monday's close, the benchmark
June contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange
had climbed 1.7 percent to 2,400 ringgit ($784) per tonne. Prices earlier in
the day touched 2,402 ringgit, the highest since March 29.
Total traded volumes were thin at
26,880 lots of 25 tonnes each, compared to the average 35,000 lots seen so far
this year.
The ringgit edged 0.1 percent lower
against the dollar on Monday, giving up some gains after hitting its highest in
more than 2 months on Friday due to short-covering ahead of upcoming elections.
Investors are also keeping an eye on
cargo surveyor export data due on Wednesday that will reveal Malaysia's
shipments of palm oil products for the first ten days of April.
Higher demand for refined products
in March had helped offset lower crude palm oil shipments caused by a 4.5
percent export duty implemented for the month. The duty was up from zero
percent in February.
In other markets, Brent crude rose
towards $105 per barrel on Monday as plans to stimulate Japan's economy lifted
financial markets, but the oil benchmark remained near an eight-month low on
worries over global economic growth and fuel demand.
In vegetable oil markets, U.S.
soyoil for May delivery rose 1.0 percent in late Asian trade. The
most active September soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange climbed 0.7 percent.
Regional Equities - April 8 (Reuters) - Most Southeast
Asian stocks ended weaker on Monday with Singapore and Indonesia falling to
their two-week lows led by financials as weak U.S. job data and concerns over
Europe dented investors' appetite for risky assets.
Banking stocks dragged the Indonesia
index 0.6 percent down, while Singapore ended 0.5 percent weaker, both closing at their two-week lows. Malaysia also edged down 0.04 percent.
"Worries over possible risks
from the United States after the weak job data and Europe are the reasons for
the fall," said Song Seng Wun, an economist at CIMB, based in Singapore.
DBS Group Holdings Ltd,
Singapore's largest lender, and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Ltd fell 1.3 percent and 0.8 percent respectively, while Indonesia's Bank Central
Asia Tbk PT dropped 3.2 percent.
In Singapore, Global Logistic
Properties Ltd (GLP), which owns warehouses in China and
Japan, jumped 3 percent after Japanese stocks soared.
Bucking the trend, Vietnam gained 0.8 percent led by blue chips and the Philippines edged up 0.1 percent.
The Thailand stock market ,
which fell 2.6 percent on Friday, was closed for a holiday on Monday.
