SHANGHAI, Apr. 22 (SMM) – The most active SHFE 1405 lead contract price hovered most of Monday’s night session around RMB 13,810/mt, up RMB 5/mt, with only 2 lots of trading volumes, indicating a wary sentiment among investors.

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index rose in March to 0.20, matching market forecasts, while the Conference Board Leading Economic Index also rose in the month by 0.8%, beating expectations. These positive economic releases showed that the US economic recovery could pick up pace in the foreseeable future. In addition, chip maker AMD posted better-than-expected business performance for the first quarter in 2014, with its shares rising by more than 10% in a single day, helping boost market sentiment. In this context, major three US share indexes all finished higher, with the S&P 500 seeing the longest straight gains since last October.

Meanwhile, Barclays, one of the world’s biggest commodities traders, was reported to exit large parts of its metals, agricultural and energy business in a move expected to be announced officially on Tuesday. Goldman Sachs previously declared to pull out of commodity trading, but Bank of America Merrill Lynch announced later to stick to this type of business.

The US dollar index ended up 0.13%, while the euro fell 0.15% over the US dollar. Major Asian shares closed lower.

China’s stock markets will be restrained by the restart of IPOs by the China Securities Regulatory Commission, but encouraging copper and aluminum import data will give a boost to base metals prices on Tuesday. LME lead prices are expected to move between USD 2,130-2,150/mt, while the most active SHFE 1405 lead contract price is set to hover between RMB 13,760-13,850/mt. In China’s physical lead markets, traded prices should hold flat between RMB 13,750-13,850/mt on Tuesday.