MARKET ROUNDUP

U.S. STOCKS FALL AS HOUSING DATA OVERSHADOW DURABLE GOODS
As a drop in pending home sales overshadowed a rise in durable- goods orders while investors watched earnings. The S&P 500 (SPX) fell 0.2 percent to 1,500.18 at 4 p.m. in New York. The equity benchmark closed above 1,500 last week for the first time since December 2007 after an eight-day rally. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 14.05 points, or 0.1 percent, to 13,881.93 today. A separate report showed orders for durable goods in the U.S. rose 4.6 percent in December after a 0.7 percent gain the prior month. The median forecast of 76 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 2 percent gain.

Oil Trades Near Four-Month High as OPEC Sees No Price Collapse
After orders for durable goods in the U.S. jumped and OPEC Secretary-General Abdalla El-Badri said crude prices are unlikely to drop this year. Crude for March delivery was at $96.50 a barrel, up 6 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 10:45 a.m. Sydney time. The average volume of all contracts traded was 50 percent below the 100-day average. Futures rose to $96.44 yesterday, the highest since Sept. 17.

Jupiter Securities Research - 29 January 2013