Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Wall Street ushered in the Barack Obama presidency with a record Inauguration Day drop on Tuesday amid fresh signs the global bank crisis was far from over.

High expectations for details on how the new administration would address the growing banking crisis and faltering economy were dampened after the inauguration speech concluded with little new information to digest.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> dropped 332.13 points, or 4.01 percent, to 7,949.09. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> slid 44.90 points, or 5.28 percent, to 805.22. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> tumbled 88.47 points, or 5.78 percent, to 1,440.86.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, Jan 20 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures ended higher on Tuesday as traders covered short positions ahead of the February crude contract's expiration, narrowing the spread between the front month and March contracts to just above $2.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, February crude expired and settled up $2.23, or 6.11 percent, at $38.74 a barrel, trading from $32.70 to $39.55.

The day's bottom was a new contract low for February crude and it marked the lowest front-month price since $32.40 was struck on Dec. 19, 2008.

NYMEX March crude ended down $1.73, or 4.06 percent, at $40.84, trading from $39.11 to $43.79. The March contract low is $38.00. Other nearby months also were lower.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - March down 28 cents at $9.92 a bushel.

Firm dollar and profit-taking weighed on soy futures as did corn/soy spreading and some midday forecasts for improved rainfall in Argentina.

CBOT-SOYOIL - March off 0.78 cent at 33.81 cents a pound. Firm dollar pressures soyoil futures despite rebound in crude oil prices.

FCPO-JAKARTA, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures finished 1.7 percent lower on Tuesday, hit by falling crude oil and soyoil prices, traders said.

The benchmark April contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed down 32 ringgit, or 1.7 percent, to 1,827 ringgit a tonne ($506).

Other traded contracts fell between 14 and 28 ringgit. Overall volume was at 14,133 lots of 25 tonnes each.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stocks tracked a
slump in global equities on Tuesday amid growing concern about the world financial sector, with losses in financial shares dragging Singapore and Jakarta to their lowest in over a month.

Singapore led the regional losses, with the benchmark Straits Times Index <.FTSTI> ending down 1.35 percent after falling as much as 3.1 percent in early trade

On Monday Royal Bank of Scotland said it would record the biggest loss in U.K. corporate history, as Britain launched a second bank rescue plan that failed to restore confidence in the wobbly financial sector

Malaysian stocks <.KLSE> shed 1.1 percent to the lowest since Jan. 2, the Thai index <.SETI> slipped 0.6 percent, the Philippine index <.PSI> slid 1.3 percent to its lowest since Dec. 24 and Vietnam <.VNI> lost 0.7 percent to a near one-month low.