FKLI Related News (Thurs, Apr 18)

Investors struggled through a third straight day of volatility, as weak economic data from Europe and disappointing earnings reports in the U.S. prompted a pullback in stocks, the euro and oil prices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished with a decline of 138.19 points, or 0.9%, to 14618.59, for a third straight day of triple-digit moves for the blue-chip index. On Monday, the Dow suffered its biggest one-day decline this year, falling 266 points, before recovering most of those losses on Tuesday. The three-day run of triple-digit moves is the first since late February, when an inconclusive Italian election cast uncertainty over Europe's debt crisis.

The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index gave up 22.56 points, or 1.4%, to 1552.01, while the Nasdaq NDAQ -1.19%Composite Index slid 59.96 points, or 1.8%, to 3204.67. As investors sold stocks, they sought the perceived safety of  Treasurys, which pushed the yield on the 10-year note down to 1.702%. As Treasury prices rise, the yield falls. In addition, the weakness in Europe sent the euro down 1.1% against the greenback, to just above the $1.30 level.  Leading the stock declines were technology, energy and financial shares, on a day that saw all 10 sectors of the S&P 500 fall and about 94% of the S&P 500 stocks trading in negative territory.

Among blue chips, Bank of America BAC -4.72%fell 58 cents, or 4.7%, to $11.70, after the bank reported first-quarter earnings that missed analyst expectations, with losses widening in its consumer real-estate division. Fellow financial companies also slid, including J.P. Morgan Chase. Meanwhile, tech companies Hewlett-Packard HPQ -2.57%and Cisco Systems CSCO -2.50%declined 2.6% and 2.5% respectively, while Apple AAPL -5.50%was one of the weakest stocks in the S&P 500. Limiting the declines were the strongest sectors of the year: health-care, utilities and consumer-staples stocks, known as defensive sectors, which are less tied to economic swings.

The Stoxx Europe 600 fell for a fourth straight day, declining 1.5% to a 2013 closing low, amid more signs that the region's economy is slowing. February construction output in the euro zone fell on the month, a fourth straight decline. In London, the FTSE 100 shed 1% after U.K. unemployment rose to 7.9%, higher than expectations, while the number of unemployed increased in the three months ended in February to the highest level in nearly 18 months. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rebounded on the back of a weakening yen, gaining 1.2% after falling 2.4% over the previous three sessions. Gold slipped 0.3%, to settle at $1,382.20 a troy ounce, while silver fell to a more than two-year low. Crude oil tumbled 2.3%, to $86.68 a barrel, a four-month low. The dollar surged against the euro and edged up against the yen.

Stocks on Bursa Malaysia closed significantly higher yesterday boosted by persistent buying of blue-chips and heavyweight counters as continued bullish sentiment among investors helped the local bourse remain in the positive territory. FKLI spot month contract opened slightly higher this morning at 1,702.

Today’s Support and Resistance for April contract is located around 1,690 and 1,707 respectively.