Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, Sept 3 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq fell on Wednesday as signs of increasingly sluggish growth in the United States and the rest of the world rattled investors already unsettled about the outlook for consumer spending and corporate profits.The Dow eked out a modest gain, however, helped by Home Depot. The home improvement retailers' shares rose 4.5 percent after its chief executive said the battered U.S. housing market's decline may be nearing an end.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 15.96 points, or 0.14 percent, to 11,532.88, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 2.59 points, or 0.20 percent, to 1,274.99.The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 15.51 points, or 0.66 percent, at 2,333.73.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, Sept 3 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures ended lower on Wednesday, but losses were pared in late trading as gasoline futures shifted higher ahead of weekly inventory data that was forecast to show a draw in gasoline stocks.Crude futures were pressured early by a surging dollar and continuing worries about weakening demand. Near the close, the government reported a slight recovery in Gulf of Mexico oil production.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, October crude settled down 36 cents, or 0.33 percent, at $109.35 per barrel, trading from $107.22 to $110.30.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - September down 50-1/2 cents at $12.51 per bushel, new-crop November down 47 at $12.51-1/2 on spillover weakness from crude oil, firm dollar and forecasts for rains in the U.S. Midwest at midweek

SOYOIL - September down 1.55 cents at 50.48 cents per lb.Following declines in soybeans and crude oil.

USD-NEW YORK, Sept 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar rose slightly on Wednesday and earlier touched its highest against the euro since January, on growing expectations the U.S. economy would outperform that of Europe.The dollar briefly extended its gains versus the euro after a government report showed U.S. factory orders rose more than expected in July, adding to signs of resilience in the U.S. economy.

FCPO-KUALA LUMPUR (Dow Jones)--Crude palm oil futures on Malaysia's derivatives
exchange ended 1.3% lower Wednesday, failing to hold on to early gains as investors liquidated positions and resorted to profit-taking.

The benchmark November contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives ended MYR33 lower at MYR2,451 a metric ton, off an intraday high of MYR2,550.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-SINGAPORE, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian markets fell on Wednesday, weighed down by commodity-related stocks as oil prices retreated, but Vietnam rose on hopes of easing inflation.

Indonesia fell 2 percent to its lowest in a week due to a sharp pullback in resource stocks, while Singapore fell 1.9 percent on commodity related stocks.Malaysia edged 0.2 percent lower, while Thai stocks fell 1.5 percent on ongoing political uncertainty as anti-government protesters continued their sit-in at the prime minister's official compound.