DJI - NEW YORK, May 7 (Reuters) - The Dow
closed above 15,000 for the first time on Tuesday and the S&P 500 ended at
another record high, extending the market's rally as more investors rushed to
join the party and German industrial data beat expectations.
It was the fourth straight record
close for the S&P 500. Both the Dow and the S&P 500 hit intraday record
highs as well.
"People are concerned they're
missing the boat if they're not fully invested in the stock market right
now," said Eric Kuby, chief investment officer of North Star Investment
Management Corp., in Chicago.
Investors' sentiment was buoyed
early in the day by data from Germany, Europe's largest economy, which reported
a 2.2 percent increase in industrial orders in March, compared with
expectations for a drop of 0.5 percent.
"Markets haven't really been
anticipating much of a recovery in Europe . If we see any type of slight
improvement in the euro-zone economy, it may add more fuel to the strong move
we've already seen in equities," said Sean Lynch, global investment
strategist for Wells Fargo Private Bank in Omaha, Nebraska.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 87.31 points, or 0.58 percent, to close at a record 15,056.20. The
Standard & Poor's 500 Index .gained 8.46 points, or 0.52 percent, to end at 1,625.96. The Nasdaq Composite
Index advanced 3.66 points, or 0.11 percent, to
close at 3,396.63.
The U.S. stock market's gains so far
have come on strong corporate results and accommodative monetary policies from
the Federal Reserve, two factors that may now be priced into markets. Last
week's jobs report was unexpectedly strong and helped to drive stocks' advance.
Oils - NEW YORK, May 7 (Reuters) - Brent
crude oil fell more than $1 on Tuesday as worries about market fundamentals
curbed an early rise that had brought the price close to $106 a barrel on
strong German data and concern about tension in the Middle East.
Fears of supply disruption after the
Israeli air strikes on Syria close to Damascus boosted Brent early in the
session, and it got close to the highest level in nearly a month following its
largest three-day rally since August 2012.
Those fears subsided and Brent fell
in the absence of clear signs of strengthening global demand, traders said. In
a monthly report, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), a
government body, cut its forecasts for oil consumption in 2013 and 2014 due to
declines in Europe and Japan.
"We're getting into an area
where we've had such a strong run-up in price over the past few days, when
really from a fundamental standpoint it's hard to justify. We got up here on a lot
of froth," said Stephen Schork, editor of The Schork Report in
Pennsylvania.
Brent crude fell $1.06 to settle at $104.40 a barrel. During the session it reached
$105.94, its highest since April 11. Brent has rebounded over $5 a barrel since
falling below $99 last Wednesday.
U.S. oil futures lost 54 cents to settle at $95.62.
The spread between Brent and U.S.
crude largely traded in a range between $9 and $10 throughout the session. It
widened out to above $10 early on, the first time it went above $10 since April
29, before settling at $8.78.
CBOT Soybean - Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade rose 1 percent
on Tuesday, with nearby contracts leading the way, on firm cash markets and
bargain buying after Monday's sell-off, traders said.
* Concerns about planting delays in the U.S. Midwest added support, with updated midday forecasts for some rain for the region late this week.
· USDA late Monday said the U.S. soybean crop was 2 percent seeded, tied with 1983 and 1993 for the second-slowest pace by early May, after the 1984 record of 1 percent. The five-year average is 12 percent.
· Global soymeal supplies may remain tight up to June because of unexpectedly sluggish new-crop soybean and soymeal exports from South America, oilseeds analysts Oil World said.
· However, shipping agency SA Commodites/Unimar said queues of ships waiting to load soy at Brazil's biggest ports are shortening and the worst of this year's unprecedented congestion and loading delays now appears to be over.
· Brazil's area planted with soybeans will likely expand 4.3 percent next season to 29.1 million hectares (71.9 million acres), local grains analysts Agroconsult said on Tuesday, suggesting the 2013/14 crop could surpass this season's record.
· Brazil will lobby top soy buyer China to speed approval for imports of three new gene-modified varieties of soybean, and one of corn, a Brazilian official said. Nearly 90 percent of Brazil's soybean crop is genetically modified.
BMD CPO - SINGAPORE, May 7 (Reuters) -
Malaysian palm oil futures ended higher on Tuesday, fuelled by bargain-hunting
from the previous day's nearly five-month low, although gains were capped by a
firm ringgit and key industry data due at the end of the week.
A strong Malaysian ringgit ,
following the election victory of the country's ruling coalition, limited the
upside for palm oil prices, as the ringgit-priced feedstock became more
expensive for overseas buyers and refiners.
Investors also avoided taking risky
bets ahead of official data for Malaysia's April palm oil stocks and output due
on Friday, which could provide further trading cues.
"We can see signs that prices
are already bottoming. The next few days will be crucial in determining market
direction," said a dealer with a foreign commodities brokerage in Kuala
Lumpur.
The benchmark July contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed up 0.4 percent at 2,259
ringgit ($758) per tonne, after trading in a tight range between 2,235 and
2,272 ringgit. Prices fell as low as 2,230 ringgit on Monday, a level last seen
on Dec. 13.
Total traded volumes were thin, at
22,230 lots of 25 tonnes each, compared to the average 35,000 lots.
Traders are pinning hopes on
stagnant production to help ease stock levels, which fell to 2.17 million
tonnes by the end of March.
Prices could gain further support if
inventory falls below the key psychological level of 2 million tonnes, although
most traders expect only a marginal drop, due to weak exports. Malaysia's palm
oil shipments in April fell as much as 5.6 percent from a month ago, cargo
surveyor data showed.
In other markets, Brent crude oil
fell below $105 per barrel on Tuesday, after the risk premium caused by an
Israeli air strike on Syria faded.
In vegetable oil markets, the U.S.
soyoil for July delivery gained 0.4 percent in late Asian trade. The
most-active September soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange rose 0.6 percent.