Market Factors to Watch | Friday, 02 January 2015 ==================================== GLOBAL MARKETS ==================================== • US MARKETS — U.S. stocks tumbled Wednesday after early gains, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average below the 18,000-point level, but still ended 2014 with solid gains. The Dow dropped 160.00 points, or 0.89 percent, to 17,823.07. The S&P 500 lost 21.45 points, or 1.03 percent, to 2,058.90. The NASDAQ Composite Index slipped 41.39 points, or 0.87 percent, to 4, 736.05. For 2014, the Dow went up 7.5 percent, the sixth year in a row that ended positive. The S&P 500 rose 11.4 percent and the NASDAQ advanced 13.4 percent, both gaining for three consecutive years. Utilities were the strongest sector of the year, up more than 24 percent, while the energy sector had the worst performance with a loss of 10 percent. Economic data came in slightly disappointing. U.S. jobless claims last week rose more than expected. The number of Americans who initially applied for jobless benefits jumped 17,000 to a seasonally adjusted 298,000 in the week ending Dec. 27, said the Labor Department on Wednesday. Analysts had forecast a smaller increase to 290,000. • US TREASURIES — U.S. Treasuries were set to end the year stronger on Wednesday, and post their best year since 2011, after slightly disappointing manufacturing data, though trading volumes were very light before the New Year holiday. Benchmark 10-year note yields have dropped to 2.17 percent after briefly breaking above 3 percent at the beginning of the year. • FOREX — The U.S. dollar climbed against most major currencies on Wednesday amid speculation that the Fed may raise interest rates next year. In late New York trading, the euro moved down to 1.2102 dollars from 1.2154 dollars in the previous session. The dollar bought 119.89 Japanese yen, higher than 119.55 yen of the previous session. • GOLD — Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell sharply on Wednesday as the dollar showed strength. The most active gold contract for February delivery dropped 16.3 dollars, or 1.36 percent, to settle at 1,184.10 dollars per ounce. • OIL — Oil prices went down Wednesday as a government report showed that inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for U.S. crude futures, added. U.S. oil and Brent crude prices lost 46 percent and 48 percent, respectively in 2014. Global oil prices headed for the biggest annual decline since the 2008 financial crisis. Light, sweet crude for February delivery lost 0.85 dollar to settle at 53.27 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for February delivery decreased 0.57 dollar to close at 57.33 dollars a barrel. =================================== MALAYSIA ==================================== • PALM OIL — Malaysian palm oil futures fell on Wednesday, but held on to this months strong gains as monsoon floods curb output in Malaysia, although the market recorded a 15 percent drop this year due to plentiful global edible oil supplies. The flooding could result in palm oil output declining by around 15 percent to 30 percent in December, Douglas Uggah Embas, the countrys commodities minister, said on Wednesday. The market is up 4.3 percent this month, its biggest rise since September, as production is likely to remain affected well into the first quarter of 2015. Heavy rains over the past weeks have forced close to a quarter of a million people to evacuate from their homes and claimed 21 lives as of Tuesday, local authorities said. The benchmark March contract ended 0.8 percent lower at 2,267 ringgit ($649) per tonne by Wednesdays close. The contract climbed to 2,308 ringgit on Monday, its highest since Nov. 4. Palm recorded a 14.8 percent drop this year, its biggest decline since 2012, but losses were less steep than initially expected as fears of flooding crimping supply helped a recovery in prices that in September had plunged to five-year lows. • COMPETING VEGOIL — In vegetable oil markets, the most active May soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange rose 0.2 percent in late Asian trade on Wednesday, while the U.S. soyoil contract for March fell 0.5 percent. • FBM KLCI — The FBM KLCI futures contracts on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives ended the last trading day of 2014 lower in sync with the easier cash market on Wednesday. At the close, December 2014 was flat at 1,759. January 2015 declined 6.5 points to 1,751, March 2015 decreased 7.5 points to 1,748 and June 2015 fell 8.5 points to 1,748.The underlying FBM KLCI ended 5.58 points lower at 1,761.25. ==================================== CLOSING PRICES FOR US MARKET Wednesday, 31 December 2014 ==================================== • DJIA Down 160.00 points at 17,823.07 • NASDAQ Down 41.39 points at 4,736.05 • S&P 500 Down 21.45 points at 2,058.90 • US Soybean Oil (Mar 15) Down -0.93 points at 32.14 dollars per metric ton. • NYMEX Light Sweet Crude Oil (WTI) (Feb 15) Down -0.85 points at 53.27 dollars a barrel. • US COMEX Gold (Feb 15) Down -16.3 points at 1184.1 dollars an ounce. ==================================== CLOSING PRICES FOR CHINA MARKET Wednesday, 31 December 2014 ==================================== • DALIAN SOYBEAN (May 15) closed down 7 at 4510 • DALIAN SOYBEAN OIL (May 15) closed up 14 at 5744 • DALIAN PALM OIL (May 15) closed unchanged at 5078 ==================================== CLOSING PRICES FOR MALAYSIA MARKET Wednesday, 31 December 2014 ==================================== • FGLD (Dec 14) close up 1.0 at 134.50 • FGLD (Jan 15) closed up 0.85 at 135.25 • FCPO (Mar 15) closed down 17 at 2,267 • FKLI (Dec 14) close unchanged at 1,759.0 • FBM KLCI closed down 5.58 at 1,761.25
Posted on: Fri, 02 Jan 2015 02:07:46 +0000
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