FKLI Related News ( Wed, Mar 27 )

NEW YORK, March 26 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks gained on Tuesday, pushing the S&P 500 within striking distance of its all-time closing high, as strong data on home prices and manufacturing fed optimism about the economy, although the improvements were seen as slow. The S&P 500 made yet another attempt at a record, but failed to break above the all-time closing high for the second day this week.

At Tuesday's close, the S&P 500 was only 1.38 points below its lifetime closing high. On Monday, the benchmark index traded just a quarter point below its record closing high, which stands at 1,565.15 set on Oct. 9, 2007, and then retreated as investors sold some equities to cash in on gains in the wake of the news out of Europe. Data showed U.S. single-family home prices rose in January at the fastest pace in more than six years, while long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods, also known as durable goods orders, shot up in February.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 111.90 points, or 0.77 percent, to end at 14,559.65. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 12.08 points, or 0.78 percent, to finish at 1,563.77. The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 17.18 points, or 0.53 percent, to close at 3,252.48. The CBOE Volatility Index or VIX, Wall Street's favorite barometer of investor anxiety, fell 7.1 percent to close at 12.77. In a sign that growth continues to be slow, sales of new U.S. single-family homes fell more than expected in February, and the latest reading on consumer confidence was weaker than expected.Shares of homebuilding stocks were mixed.

But investors remained concerned about the negative implications of a financial rescue plan for Cyprus. They worried that it would serve as a template for other euro-zone economies requiring bailouts. Banks in Cyprus will remain closed until Thursday and will then be subject to capital controls to prevent a run on deposits. President Nicos Anastasiades said late on Monday that a 10-billion-euro ($13 billion) rescue plan approved over the weekend was "painful" but essential to avoid economic meltdown.

In Tuesday's session, volume was lighter than usual with some market participants absent for the observance of the Jewish holiday of Passover. Volume was roughly 5.2 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and the NYSE MKT, compared with the 2012 average daily closing volume of about 6.45 billion. Advancers outnumbered decliners on the New York Stock Exchange by a ratio of about 7 to 3. On the Nasdaq, seven stocks rose for every five that fell.

The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 8.94 points to end at 1,652.83, the highest since March 13, 2013 despite the decline in share prices on major regional markets due to concerns over risks in the Cyprus financial bailout by the International Monetary Fund and European Union. FKLI spot month contract opened higher this morning at 1,657.50. 

Today’s Support and Resistance for March contract is located around 1,650 and 1,668 respectively.