Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, Aug 18 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks sank on Monday as the prospect of more losses from the mortgage crisis hurt the shares of banks and the two biggest home finance providers, pushing all three major indexes down about 1.5 percent.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> tumbled 180.51 points, or 1.55 percent, to 11,479.39. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> lost 19.60 points, or 1.51 percent, to 1,278.60. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> slid 35.54 points, or 1.45 percent, to 2,416.98.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, Aug 18 (Reuters) - U.S. oil futures ended lower for the third session in a row on Monday as Tropical Storm Fay headed toward Florida's west coast and was expected to miss key operations in the Gulf of Mexico oil.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, September crude settled down 90 cents, or 0.79 percent, at $112.87 a barrel, trading from $112 to $115.35. The contract expires Wednesday.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - September up 67-1/2 cents at $12.79 per bushel, November up 70 at $12.89. Limit-up rally after Friday's big sell-off on weaker dollar and spillover from gains in China's Dalian soy markets. China may resume big buying of soy after the Olympic Games, traders said. Concern about drier weather in the United States this week adds support.

Argentine farmers resume protests for the first time since the government repealed a soy export tax hike last month, demanding further changes to farm policy.

SOYOIL - September up 2.48 cents at 52.52 cents per lb. Following soybeans. Markets undergoing a technical bounce after the sharp declines on Friday.

FCPO-KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures rose 1.4 percent on Monday, bouncing off one-year lows hit earlier in the session as investors were torn between firmer commodity prices and talk that Asia buyers will default cargoes.

The benchmark crude palm oil November contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange fell 44 ringgit to 2,408 ringgit ($723) but settled up 33 ringgit at 2,485 ringgit per tonne.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-SINGAPORE, Aug 18 (Reuters) -most Southeast Asian markets were lower on growth concerns.

Singapore <.FTSTI> dropped 0.7 percent to sink below its March lows, Malaysia <.KLSE> gave up 1 percent, while Thai stocks<.SETI> were down 1.5 percent on political worries.The Philippine index <.PSI> closed flat, while Vietnam <.VNI>rose 3.9 percent after its securities commission widened the trading band to 5 percent from 3 percent previously.