FKLI Related News ( Wed, Mar 13)

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P 500 ended lower on Tuesday, breaking a seven-session string of gains as investors pulled back from technology and financials, but the Dow eked out the smallest of gains to finish at another all-time closing high. The Dow also hit another lifetime intraday high, while the S&P 500 remains within reach of its all-time closing high of 1,565.15, set on October 9, 2007. Signs of improvement in the economy and the Federal Reserve's quantitative easing have helped to propel the advance.

Tech shares, which have lagged the rally, pulled indexes lower as heavyweights such as Apple (AAPL.O) and Google (GOOG.O) tumbled. Financials also underperformed the broader market on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 financial index (.SPSY) down 0.6 percent. The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) rose just 2.77 points, or 0.02 percent, to 14,450.06, another record close. Earlier, the Dow climbed to a lifetime intraday high of 14,478.80. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (.SPX) dipped 3.74 points, or 0.24 percent, to finish at 1,552.48 - about 13 points below its record closing high. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) slipped 10.55 points, or 0.32 percent, to close at 3,242.32.

Apple dropped 2.2 percent to $428.43. An analyst said the company has a 25 percent chance of missing its quarterly revenue forecast as iPhone sales slow. Google fell 0.9 percent to $827.61, while the S&P tech sector (.SPLRCT) lost 0.6 percent. After a light economic calendar the last couple of days, investors will turn their attention to retail sales data on Wednesday to get a sense of how consumers are faring. Sales are expected to have increased 0.5 percent in February. Adding to Tuesday's weakness, Jens Weidmann, head of the Bundesbank and a member of the European Central Bank's governing council, said the euro-zone crisis was not over.

Brent crude prices fell a third straight session in choppy trading on Tuesday, while U.S. oil posted a fourth consecutive gain, tightening the spread between the two contracts to the narrowest since January. The iconic Dow eked out another all-time record high on Tuesday but global equity markets slid, while the yen rose from a 3-1/2-year low against the U.S. dollar for the first time in a week. Gold had its biggest gain in two weeks on Tuesday after a top European Central Bank official said the euro zone crisis was not over, and copper and other base metals rallied too, sending commodities higher for a third day in a row.                      [Reuters]

Malaysian shares end down 0.1% at 1656.54, with investors taking profits in select blue chips amid decline in regional equities. A local dealer says supportive technical signals and encouraging signs for Malaysia’s economy following strong export and import growth point to further upside in the KLCI in the near term. “Today’s dip is just a temporary correction”, the dealer says, tipping resistance at 1675 and support at 1645.”          [Dow Jones Newswire]

FKLI spot month contract opened slightly lower this morning at 1,651 amid weaker performances on most regional stocks over concern on the global economic outlook. Today’ Support and Resistance for March contract is located around 1,645 and 1,670 respectively.