Trader's Highlight

DJI - NEW YORK, March 5 - U.S. stocks slid on Thursday with the Dow and S&P falling to 12-year lows as General Motors' warning of possible bankruptcy and concerns about the
banking system's fate reinforced investors' reluctance to take on risk.

The previous session's rally proved fleeting as worries about the financial system's health hit bank stocks again and investors focused on the possibility that troubles in the finance arm of widely held General Electric could lead to a debt rating downgrade for the entire company.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 281.40 points, or 4.09 percent, to 6,594.44. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 30.32 points, or 4.25 percent, to 682.55. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 54.15 points, or 4.00 percent, to 1,299.59.

NYMEX - NEW YORK, March 5 - U.S. crude futures ended almost 4 percent lower on Thursday as Wall Street losses mounted, raising fresh concerns about oil demand in a slowing economy a day after a nearly 9 percent rally.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, April crude settled down $1.77, or 3.9 percent, at $43.61 a barrel, trading from $42.86, breaking support at $43.50, to a high of $45.70.

CBOT - SOYBEANS - March down 13 cents at $8.62-1/2 a bushel. Firm dollar, lower crude oil and drop in U.S. stock market lending pressure in addition to a low soy number in USDA's weekly export sales report. Market on edge amid ongoing conflict between Argentine government and farmers.

CBOT - SOYOIL - March down 0.30 cent at 30.44 cents a pound. Lower crude oil and drop in U.S. stocks leading to weakness in soyoil futures.

FCPO - KUALA LUMPUR, March 5 - Malaysian crude palm oil futures traded slightly higher on Thursday as investors waited for more leads, beyond taking positions on strong crude oil and the higher U.S. soybean complex.

The benchmark May contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange settled up 4 ringgit at 1,906 ringgit ($511.5) per tonne.

REGIONAL EQUITIES - BANGKOK, March 5 - Singapore stocks fell 1.7 percent on Thursday, weighed down by losses in index heavyweight DBS Group and other bank shares, and other Southeast Asian markets ended off their highs after early optimism faded.

Singapore's benchmark index turned lower after a 1 percent rise on Wednesday, with the region's biggest bank, DBS , extending its fall for a fifth day, down 2.1 percent, and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp dropping 3 percent.

Elsewhere, Malaysia's index gained 0.27 percent, the Thai index inched down 0.18 percent and Indonesia's drifted 0.1 percent lower.