DJI - NEW YORK, April 10 (Reuters) - U.S.
stocks climbed 1 percent on Wednesday, with both the Dow and S&P 500 ending
at historic highs as cyclical shares led the way higher for a second straight
day.
The S&P 500 finally joined the
new all-time intraday high club, surging past a record set on Oct. 11, 2007.
The index has struggled to breach the level of 1,576.09 for the past several
weeks, but broke above it on Wednesday to rise as high as 1,589.07. The Dow
also hit another intraday milestone, rising as high as 14,826.66.
"The path of least resistance
for the market remains higher, and despite some mixed economic data, investors
are concluding that stocks remain a better place to be than risk-free
assets," said Jim McDonald, chief investment strategist at Chicago-based
Northern Trust Global Investments, which has about $760 billion in assets under
management.
Gains were broad, with all but two
of the S&P 500's 10 primary sectors up more than 1 percent. More than
three-fourths of stocks traded on the Nasdaq ended higher, while 73 percent of
New York Stock Exchange-listed shares did.
In another encouraging sign, volume
was higher than it has been recently, with about 6.24 billion shares changing
hands on the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and NYSE MKT. However, volume
remained below the daily average so far this year of about 6.36 billion shares.
With the day's gains, major indexes
are up about 10 percent for the year, but many investors viewed the strength in
cyclicals - groups closely tied to the pace of economic growth - as a sign that
the rally still has staying power. The Dow Jones Transportation Average ,
viewed as a leading indicator for the broader market, rose 1.8 percent.
The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 128.78 points, or 0.88 percent, to 14,802.24 at the close. The Standard
& Poor's 500 Index climbed 19.12 points, or 1.22 percent, to
1,587.73. The Nasdaq Composite Index shot up 59.40 points, or 1.83 percent, to close at 3,297.25.
The day marked the best session for
both the Dow and the S&P 500 since Feb. 27, and the best for the Nasdaq
since Jan. 2. The Nasdaq climbed to a session high of 3,299.15, its highest
since November 2000.
"After we broke above the high,
we saw momentum accelerate as investors saw it as a release of
resistance," said Katie Stockton, chief market technician at MKM Partners
in Greenwich, Connecticut. "By definition, there is no more resistance for
the S&P now that we're at new highs.
Oils - NEW YORK, April 10 (Reuters) - Brent
crude oil prices fell on Wednesday, dragged down by a steep sell-off in U.S.
gasoline futures after a U.S. government report showed an unexpected build in
domestic gasoline inventories.
U.S. crude oil inventories rose by
250,000 barrels to reach the third-highest level on record for the week ending
April 5, according to data released by the U.S. Energy Information
Administration. The rise was less than the 1.4 million barrels forecast by
analysts polled by Reuters.
"People in today's trade are
not just selling a few contracts of gas, they're also selling the gas crack
spread, selling RBOB and buying U.S. crude against it," said Timothy
Evans, an energy analyst at Citi Futures Perspective in New York.
The U.S. government's inventory data
arrived after OPEC trimmed its forecast for global demand growth on Wednesday,
echoing similarly low demand expectations cited earlier this week by the U.S.
Energy Information Administration (EIA) in its monthly outlook.
"We have more than ample
supplies of oil on hand, so we don't have real support for rising prices from
that factor," said Gene McGillian, an analyst with Tradition Energy in
Connecticut.
Brent May crude settled down 44 cents at $105.79 a barrel, having retreated from a session high
of $106.47. Brent's May contract expires on Monday.
CBOT Soybean - April 10 (Reuters) - Soybean futures on the Chicago Board
of Trade ended lower Wednesday on a larger-than-expected U.S. government
forecast for 2012/13 world soybean stocks, traders said.
- Trade was volatile in the minutes after the U.S. Department of Agriculture released its monthly supply/demand report. Spot soybeans surged to a nearly two-week high before plunging, then later pared their losses.
- Soymeal followed soybeans lower, while soyoil posted modest gains.
- USDA raised its forecast for 2012/13 world soybean stocks to 62.6 million tonnes from a March forecast of 60.2 million tonnes, going against trade expectations for a reduction.
- USDA cut its forecast of top buyer China's 2012/13 soybean imports to 61 million tonnes from 63 million.
- On the bullish side, USDA left its forecast for U.S. 2012/13 soy ending stocks unchanged at 125 million bushels, below analysts' average estimate of 136 million.
- Also bullish, U.S. cash soybean bids remained firm, supported by the slow pace of farmer sales.
- Trade expects USDA's weekly export sales report on Thursday to show soybean sales at 175,000 to 500,000 tonnes for 2012/13, and 200,000 to 500,000 tonnes for 2013/14.
- Crop forecaster Lanworth, a unit of Thomson Reuters, cut its U.S. soy production forecast to 3.380 billion bushels from 3.455 billion, citing expectations for a higher ratio of corn to soybean acreage in Kansas, Nebraska, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota.
- Rain and snow in the Plains and Midwest will slow or stall corn plantings while easing drought stress, meteorologist Andy Karst of World Weather Inc said. Delays in corn plantings will be widespread this week and only sporadic seedings will take place next week.
- China imported 3.84 million tonnes of soybeans in March, up 32.4 percent from February but down 20.5 percent from a year ago, customs data showed. Port congestion in Brazil delayed some shipments.
- Chinese imports are expected to pick up from March, but outbreaks of a new strain of bird flu in some areas could hurt restocking of soymeal for feed for poultry, traders said.
Argentina Soybean - BUENOS AIRES, April 10 (Reuters) -
Argentina's closing soy prices and trends on Wednesday:
- In the main grains market of Rosario, soy closed at 1,580-1,600 pesos ($307/$311) per tonne compared with Tuesday's 1,608 pesos per tonne, dragged down by losses in U.S. soy futures.
- Trade volume dropped to a modest 12,000 tonnes from 20,000 tonnes in the prior session.
- Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade ended lower Wednesday on a larger-than-expected U.S. government forecast for 2012/13 world soybean stocks, traders said.
- Rosario soy for delivery in May, which is quoted in U.S. dollars, closed at $315-$316 per tonne up from $314 on Tuesday.
- In the southern grains port of
Quequen, where no official price was listed for Tuesday, soy ended at
1,550 pesos per tonne.
BMD CPO - SINGAPORE, April 10 (Reuters) -
Malaysian palm oil futures edged lower on Wednesday, weighed down by recent
strength in the ringgit, although losses were limited after a report showed
stocks dropped to their lowest in seven months as exports outpaced weak output
growth.
Prices were expected to rise after
the midday break as the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) reported a steep 10.9
percent drop in stocks to 2.17 million tonnes, far exceeding market
expectations of a 3.8 percent drop.
But the ringgit's recent rise on
short-covering ahead of the upcoming election has made crude palm oil more
expensive for overseas buyers and lowered refiners' margin, keeping some
investors on the sidelines.
The currency hit a near 3-month high against the dollar on Wednesday after the government
said the Southeast Asian nation will hold its general elections on May 5.
"The market is facing selling
pressure with the strengthening ringgit as it dampens refining margin,"
said a dealer with a foreign commodities brokerage in Malaysia.
The benchmark June contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange fell 1 percent to close at 2,370
ringgit ($783) per tonne -- also the low for the day. Prices touched a high of
2,419 ringgit on Tuesday, a level last seen on March 28.
Total traded volumes stood at 34,101
lots of 25 tonnes each, slightly lower than the average 35,000 lots seen so far
this year.
Exports of Malaysian palm oil
products for April 1 to 10 inched up 3.5 percent to 456,440 tonnes, compared
with 441,025 tonnes shipped during the same period last month, cargo surveyor
Intertek Testing Services said on Wednesday.
Palm oil stocks are now closer to
the psychological 2-million-tonne level. Leading analyst Dorab Mistry has
forecast prices could rise to 2,400 to 2,700 ringgit by the end of May as
stockpiles fall below that level.
In other markets, Brent crude
futures steadied around $106 per barrel on Wednesday after China's total
imports surged in March, suggesting that recovery in the world's No 2 oil
consumer is gathering momentum.
In vegetable oil markets, U.S.
soyoil for May delivery edged 0.1 percent lower in late Asian trade.
The most active September soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange closed 0.3 percent higher.
