US markets

U.S. stocks traded in a tight range Monday, as Wal-Mart weighed on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, but materials gained in the wake of a surge of Chinese exports and imports last month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.02% at 12271. Weighing on the measure, Wal-Mart Stores fell 1.4% after J.P. Morgan Chase cut the company's stock investment rating to neutral from overweight, predicting that same-store sales deterioration could last for years, not quarters. Verizon Communications was also weak, down 1.7%. Keeping the Dow's losses in check, energy companies strengthened amid concerns that unrest in the Middle East could spread. Exxon Mobil rose 2.2%, while Chevron gained 1.2%.

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General Electric rose 1% after agreeing to buy the well-support division of U.K. firm John Wood Group for $2.8 billion in cash to bolster its oil and gas services business in areas like extracting natural gas from shale. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.2% to 2814. The Standard & Poor's 500 stock index gained 0.2% to 1332, led by its energy and materials sectors. A bigger than expected surge of imports and exports in China last month lifted hopes that demand could rise for materials stocks. Mining company Cliffs Natural Resources rose 5%, while aluminum giant Alcoa gained 1.6%. Stocks dipped but quickly rebounded after President Barack Obama released a $3.73 trillion budget for fiscal-year 2012 that offers up more than $1 trillion in deficit reductions over a 10-year period. The administration proposed reducing or closing 200 federal programs at a savings of $33 billion. Obama also said he would fight to reverse tax cuts for upper-income taxpayers after 2012. Investors said the market seemed to paying little heed on Monday to the White House's budget proposal.

European markets

European stocks finished mostly higher Monday, with Credit Suisse Group AG rising after the Swiss bank entered a deal to strengthen its capital, while Nokia Corp. shares dropped again. The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.4% to end at 289.11. U.K. consumer price data are due Tuesday, followed by the Bank of England's quarterly inflation report Wednesday. U.S. data on producer prices and consumer prices are due Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.

Among the major regional benchmarks, Germany's DAX 30 index rose 0.3% to 7,396.63, helped by a 2.5% gain for BASF SE. Citigroup named the chemicals company as one of its most preferred stocks in Europe. The French CAC 40 eased 0.1% to 4,096.62, as car makers Renault SA and PSA Peugeot Citroen SA fell by 1.4% and 1.5%, respectively. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended down 0.1% at 6,060.09. Shares of ARM Holdings PLC rallied nearly 7% to 651 pence. Goldman Sachs raised its 12-month target price on the stock to 800 pence from 700 pence. Lloyds Banking Group PLC was down 1.7%.

Elsewhere, shares of Credit Suisse rose 1.9%, gaining after the bank said it plans to issue around $6.2 billion of contingent convertible bonds--a type of debt that converts into shares if the issuer finds itself in trouble. Some analysts had predicted the bank would find it hard to sell such debt, but Credit Suisse said that the deal represents half of the contingent capital it needs to raise under new Swiss rules and that it will pay a lower interest rate than on the existing debt that it is replacing.

Asian markets

Asian markets ended higher Monday as relief over Friday's resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak caused investors to look beyond worries about inflation in China. Japanese stocks rallied despite data showing a contraction in the nation's fourth quarter gross domestic product, as investors focused on hopes for a recovery during the three months ending March 31. Stocks in Shanghai as well as Hong Kong climbed as investors shrugged off strong trade data from the mainland, which fanned worries that authorities may keep a policy tightening bias to check inflationary pressures. Some analysts said China's inflation data for January, due Tuesday, might also keep worries about monetary tightening in place. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average climbed 1.1%, Taiwan's Taiex rose 0.9% and South Korea's Kospi was up 1.9%. China's Shanghai Composite Index jumped 2.5% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added 1.3% after trade data for January signaled robust economic activity there. Several mainland Chinese stocks posted solid gains, led by brokerages. Citic Securities and Hong Yuan Securities were among those that rose by the day's 10% limit, with Anhui Conch Cement climbing 8.2%, Jiangxi Copper climbing 5.7% and Ping An Insurance adding 4.6%. In Hong Kong, Aluminum Corp. of China jumped 4.6% and Esprit Holdings added 5.1%, while China Resources Land gained 3.5% after Credit Suisse upgraded the stock to neutral. In Tokyo, meanwhile, shares were supported by fading tensions in Egypt and the yen's weakness against the U.S. dollar since Thursday. Domestic markets were closed Friday for a public holiday. Data released before the stock markets opened showed the country's fourth quarter gross domestic product contracted 1.1% in annualized terms. However, analysts said the data for the current quarter were likely to be better. Among exporters, shares of Honda Motor climbed 2.8% and Fanuc rose 3.8%, while Nikon jumped 3.5%.

Base metals

Base metals closed higher on the London Metal Exchange Monday, led by a decisive rally in copper that saw the red metal break new ground after a week of treading water. LME three-month copper hit a record high of $10,168.50 a metric ton Monday, buoyed by data showing Chinese copper imports touching a four-month high in January, narrowing the country's trade surplus and renewing confidence in the metal's near-term price prospects. According to preliminary data provided by the General Administration of Customs, China imported 364,240 tons of copper, copper alloy and semifinished products in January, an increase of 5.7% from December and a rise of 25% from the same month a year earlier. At the PM kerb close, LME three month copper was up 2.0% at $10,155/ton.

Crude futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange settled below $85 a barrel Monday, falling to two month lows, while Brent futures hit a fresh two year high, leaving the WTI discount to Brent futures at the widest on record. Light, sweet crude for March delivery settled 77 cents lower at $84.81 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Comex gold futures ended the day near unchanged after a range bound day capped by a calmer Egypt and a stronger dollar. The thinly traded February-delivery contract settled up 0.4%, or $4.70, at $1,364.60 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The most actively traded contract, for April delivery, settled up 0.4%, or $4.70, at $1,365.10 a troy ounce.

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