Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, Dec 18 - Fears of a worsening U.S. economy drove yields on long-dated government bonds to fresh 50-year lows and led Standard & Poor's on Thursday to warn that it could cut General Electric's top credit rating, pushing Wall Street sharply lower.

Signs of economic duress were visible throughout financial markets, with U.S. crude prices dropping more than 9 percent to $36 a barrel and investors accelerating a safe-haven scramble into the relative safety of government securities.

Oil's slide overshadowed an agreement on a record output cut on Wednesday by members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, while the International Energy Agency said the market's fixation on falling demand was unlikely to end soon.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 219.35 points, or 2.49 percent, at 8,604.99. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 19.08 points, or 2.11 percent, at 885.34. The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 26.94 points, or 1.71 percent, at 1,552.37.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, Dec 18 - U.S. crude oil futures fell more than 9 percent on Thursday, settling at nearly a 4-1/2-year low, as concern about slumping demand and rising inventories offset OPEC's big output cut.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, January crude fell $3.84, or 9.59 percent, to settle at $36.22 a barrel, lowest since June 29, 2004, when it closed at $35.66, according to Reuters data.

CBOT - SOYBEANS - January up 5-1/2 cents to $8.69-1/2 a bushel. March up 5-1/2 to $8.74-1/2.

Nearbys underpinned by very strong CIF market at U.S. Gulf for soybeans amid a lack of farmer sales coupled with strong Chinese demand for U.S. soy. Overhanging market weakness in crude oil and soyoil.

CBOT-SOYOIL - January down 0.30 cent to 30.70 cents per pound.

Pressed by falling crude oil but off early lows as crude bounces from early lows.

FCPO-JAKARTA, Dec 18 - Malaysian palm futures lost more than 2 percent on Thursday after crude oil hit its weakest level in more than four years despite OPEC's biggest ever production cut.

The benchmark March palm oil contract on the Bursa Malaysia's Derivatives Exchange dropped 35 ringgit, or 2.22 percent, to 1,545 ringgit ($447) per tonne.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, Dec 17 - Most Southeast Asian stocks gained on Wednesday, cheered by a rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve, with Sime Darby pushing Malaysia to a two-week high and Thai shares up for a seventh day as the political climate calmed.

The big U.S. rate cut fuelled further buying of regional blue chips initially, but markets ended below the highs as doubts set in over what lower interest rates could really do to turn around the global economy.

Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index drifted 0.16 percent lower at the close, after a brief 1.7 percent rise to a near one-week high in morning trade, with gainers including CapitaLand , which rose 2.5 percent.

In Kuala Lumpur, the benchmark index closed up 0.9 percent. Southeast Asia's best-performing market this year earlier touched its highest since Dec. 1, with gainers including Sime Darby , up 3.8 percent.

Thailand's main stock index ended up a mere 0.14 percent after earlier climbing 2.5 percent to its highest since Nov. 11. Improved political sentiment has driven the Thai market up by 12.7 percent in the past six days.

Indonesia's main index gained 1.6 percent, ending slightly below its intra-day high of 1,376.10, its highest since Nov. 5, with Telkom Indonesia up 2.8 percent and Indosat 2.05 percent higher.