Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, March 20 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Friday, as long-standing worries about the health of the banking system resurfaced and a brokerage said American Express may post yearly losses and cut its dividend.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> dropped 108.01 points, or 1.46 percent, to 7,292.79. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> fell 15.56 points, or 1.98 percent, to 768.48. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> lost 31.51 points, or 2.12 percent, to 1,451.97.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, March 20 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures slipped on Friday, after seesawing as the front-month April contract went to expiration and following crude oil's strong rally the previous session.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, expiring April crude fell 55 cents, or 1.07 percent, to settle at $51.06 a barrel, trading from $50.30 to $52.13, just below Thursday's $52.25 high, which was a 2009 front-month intraday peak.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - May up 11-1/2 cents per bushel at $9.52 per bushel. Support from conflict between Argentine government and farmers over government's export tax on soy and on news China bought more soy from the U.S.

CBOT-SOYOIL - May up 0.36 cent per lb at 32.25 cents per lb. Following soy with gains limited a bit of a rebound for dollar after its plunge at mid-week.

FCPO-KUALA LUMPUR, March 20 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures rose 3.9 percent on Friday as crude oil's surge in the previous session sent a flood of buyers in through global vegetable oil markets from China to the United States.

The benchmark June contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose 74 ringgit to 1,985 ringgit ($543.8) per tonne, a level unseen since March 11.

Other traded months rose between 52 and 110 ringgit. Overall volumes more than doubled to 24,509 lots of 25 tonnes each versus the usual 10,000 lots.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, March 20 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets
edged higher on Friday, with rises in oil prices driving gains in energy-related firms such as Keppel Corp and PTT PCL , sending Singapore and Thailand to three-week highs.

Singapore's benchmark Straits Time Index <.FTSTI> rose 0.76 percent to its highest close since Feb. 26 due to demand for energy-related stocks and some final-hour buying of major banks.

Indonesia's main stock index <.JKSE> rose 1.44 percent and earlier touched its highest since Jan. 19.

Malaysia's main stock index <.KLSE> was in the red in morning trade but turned round to climb 0.54 percent to a two-week closing high.