FKLI Related News (Mon, Apr 15)

NEW YORK, April 12 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks closed slightly lower on Friday, retreating from the previous session's record highs on a drop in financial shares, but major indexes had the biggest weekly gains since the first week of the year. Shares pared losses in the final hour of trading, with the Dow helped by a rally in Home Depot. For the week, the S&P 500 rose 2.3 percent while the Nasdaq rose 2.8 percent. It was the best weekly gain for both since the first week of the year. The Dow rose 2.1 percent.

Financial stocks were pressured on Friday by a pair of disappointing bank results and a delay in closing a large bank deal. Weak retail sales and consumer sentiment data, suggesting the economy lost momentum, also weighed on stocks. Telecom and healthcare, two defensive groups, were among the few S&P sectors in positive territory. On Thursday, the Dow and the S&P 500 closed at all-time highs. Both JPMorgan Chase & Co and Wells Fargo & Co were lower after reporting results, with JPMorgan hit by a decline in revenue and Wells Fargo by a reduction in home loans. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 0.08 points, or 0.00 percent, at 14,865.06.

Losses were offset in the Dow by Home Depot Inc, which jumped 2.4 percent to $73.62 after Jefferies & Co upgraded the stock on expectations of strong first-quarter same-store sales. Data showed retail sales fell 0.4 percent in March, while February's strong gain was revised down slightly. Consumer spending plays a key role in the U.S. economy, accounting for two-thirds of activity. Another report showed consumer sentiment fell to a nine-month low in early April amid gloom about the long-term health prospects for the U.S. economy. The advance in equities in recent months was partly buoyed by the Federal Reserve's economic stimulus efforts, and analysts are viewing the first-quarter earnings season as a test for whether those gains are justified by corporate performance.

Material and energy stocks also fell alongside a drop in oil and precious metal prices. Oil prices sank 2.8 percent to an eight-month low while gold hit its lowest since July 2011. Prices were hit by concerns over the global economic outlook and the impact it could have on demand. Major commodity markets fell sharply on Friday, with oil tumbling to a nine-month low and gold sinking more than 4 percent to break below $1,500 an ounce, as investors worried about a weak global economic outlook and a plan for Cyprus to sell gold reserves. Brent crude oil fell to a nine-month low near $101 a barrel on Friday as a broad investor sell-off in commodities triggered a fall as much as $3 a barrel, but the global oil benchmark pared losses in afternoon New York trade as bargain hunters emerged.  

About 58 percent of companies traded on the New York Stock Exchange closed lower while 57 percent of Nasdaq-listed shares closed in negative territory. Volume was light, with about 5.94 billion shares changing hands on the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and NYSE MKT, below the daily average so far this year of about 6.36 billion shares.

The overbought situation is expected to slow down Bursa Malaysia’s upward momentum this week, said Affin Investment Bank vice-president /head of retail research Dr Nazri Khan. He said the May 5 general election will continue to influence market sentiments. “The bullish sentiment is still strong, mostly due to pre-election rally and foreign investor fund inflow.”,  he told Bernama. FKLI spot month contract opened slightly lower this morning at 1,695 following Wall Street’s retreat from its record high on weak retail sales and disappointing bank results.

Today’s Support and Resistance for FKLI April contract is located around 1,690 and 1,710 respectively.