Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, Oct 27 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks closed at their lowest levels in 5-1/2 years on Monday, extending a global sell-off as worry about the severity of a global recession and the bleak outlook for profits gripped investors.

Trading was volatile and volume was light, with stocks falling sharply in the last half hour of trading. With just four days left in October, the S&P 500 is on track for its worst month ever in the post-World War Two period.

Hedge funds and mutual funds have been dumping stocks to raise cash to meet redemptions from their clients, traders noted, exacerbating the late-day selling.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> slid 203.18 points, or 2.42 percent, to 8,175.77, its lowest close since April 2003. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> dropped 27.85 points, or 3.18 percent, to 848.92, its lowest close
since March 2003.

The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was down 46.13 points, or 2.97 percent, at 1,505.90, its lowest close since May 2003.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, Oct 27 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures settled lower on Monday as trading seesawed with the volatile U.S. stock market, with recession concerns continuing to fuel worry about falling oil demand.

Crude oil was pressured on Monday despite Friday's OPEC agreement to cut production by 1.5 million barrels per day.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, December crude fell 93 cents, or 1.45 percent, to settle at $63.22 a barrel -- lowest settlement since May 29, 2007 -- trading from $61.30 to $65.77.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - November up 29-1/4 cents at $8.93 per bushel; January up 30-1/2 at $8.97-1/2.

Higher on tight cash markets and technical rebound after spot month fell to a near 14-month low last week. Additional support stemming from stock market recovery.

CBOT-SOYOIL - December up 0.25 at 31.72 cents per lb. Following soybeans higher and as crude oil came off lows.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-SINGAPORE, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stocks tumbled to new multi-year lows hit by profit warnings and poor earnings outlooks, with banks and other blue chips such as Singapore's United Overseas Bank and Thailand's PTT falling sharply.

Malaysia's second-largest palm oil planter IOI Corp fell nearly 19 percent after sources said the company allegedly asked key personnel to resign following foreign exhange losses.

Singapore stocks <.FTSTI> plunged 8.3 percent on Friday, breaking below the pyschological 1,600 level to hit a 5-year low.

Thai stocks <.SETI> returned from a market holiday on Thursday to close 7 percent down, hitting a 5-year low, while Indonesian shares <.JKSE> lost 6.9 percent to mark its lowest since March 2006.

Malaysia <.KLSE>, the region's outperformer so far this year, also dropped 3.6 percent to a 4-year low. The Philippine index <.PSI> eased 2.1 percent to its lowest in 3 years, while Vietnam <.VNI> dived 4.3 percent to erase gains in the past 30 months.