MARKET ROUNDUP (Source Bloomberg)

U.S. Stocks Decline Ahead of Corporate Earnings Season; as investors awaited the start of the corporate earnings season tomorrow. The S&P 500 fell 0.3 percent to 1,461.89 at 4 p.m. New York time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 50.92 points, or 0.4 percent, to 13,384.29. About 5.8 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 5 percent below the three-month average. The S&P 500 ended last week at the highest level since 2007 after data showed employers added workers in December at about the same pace as the prior month. The gauge rallied 2.5 percent on Jan. 2 after Republicans and Democrats agreed on a compromise budget that avoided the so-called fiscal
cliff of sweeping tax increases and spending cuts.

Oil Trades Near Four-Month High as Run Rates, Supply Seen Rising; before a government report that may show refinery utilization rose and stockpiles increased in the U.S., the world's biggest crude-consuming nation. West Texas Intermediate futures were little changed after advancing a second day yesterday. Crude inventories probably climbed 1.4 million barrels last week, according to the median estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News before an Energy Department report tomorrow. Refineries boosted their average run rate to 90.6 percent from 90.4 percent, while fuel supplies also rose, the survey shows. Crude for February delivery was at $93.25 a barrel, up 6 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 10:40 a.m. Sydney time. The contract increased 10
cents to $93.19 yesterday, the highest settlement since Sept. 18. Prices slid 7.1 percent last year.

Jupiter Securities Research - 08 January 2013