Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, May 7 (Reuters) - Wall Street stocks slid on Thursday as investors took profits from the technology sector's recent surge, while analyst downgrades hurt telecoms and a tepid response to a government bond auction raised fears about
public finances.

Bank stocks also succumbed to profit-taking, with the KBW Bank index <.BKX> dropping 3.5 percent, a day after leaked results from so-called stress tests suggested that most U.S. banks were healthier than previously thought.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> dropped 102.43 points, or 1.2 percent, to 8,409.85. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> slid 12.14 points, or 1.32 percent, to 907.39. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> fell 42.86 points, or 2.44 percent, to 1,716.24.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, May 7 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures ended at the highest level in almost six months on Thursday, but was well below the day's fresh 2009 peak on a late bout of profit-taking after Wall Street weakened.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, June crude settled up 37 cents, or 0.66 percent at $56.71 a barrel, the highest settlement since $57.04 on Nov. 14, 2008. It traded from $55.46 to $58.57, the highest intraday since $58.98 was struck on Nov. 17, 2008.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - May down 16 cents at $11.19 a bushel; July down 16 at $11.02.

Pressured by talk China may have cancelled orders for U.S. soy, profit-taking after seven-month highs reached with weight on the market also stemming from a downturn in the stock market.

CBOT-SOYOIL - May down 0.18 cent at 38.47 cents per lb, July down 0.20 at 38.78.

Downturn in soybean market weighs on soyoil. Underpinned by strong weekly export data from USDA. Choppy trade in crude oil led to see-saw trade in soyoil.

FCPO-JAKARTA, May 6 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm futures closed unchanged on Thursday, giving up gains of 2 percent in early trade, after a Reuters poll showed end-April palm stock was higher than many market participants had expected, traders said.

A Reuters poll showed on Thursday that April's inventory is seen at 1.30 million tonnes, the lowest since June 2007, as overseas demand weakened and output edged higher.

The benchmark July contract closed unchanged at 2,680 ringgit per tonne ($760.93). Overall volume was 17,549 lots of 25 tonnes each.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, May 7 (Reuters) - Singapore's benchmark index rose
2.9 percent on Thursday, leading major Southeast Asian stock markets to seven-month highs, as optimism about the global economic outlook induced more buying of big banks in the region.

Singapore <.FTSTI> gained for a sixth straight session to end at its highest level since Oct. 6, bolstered by Wednesday's better-than-expected quarterly results from United Overseas Bank (UOB) and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC).

Against the trend, Malaysia <.KLSE> inched down 0.05 percent, erasing its early 1.4 percent rise, with losers including Sime Darby , down 1.5 percent, and Genting , down 0.8 percent.

However, Maybank rose 1.6 percent after the country's biggest lender said it would keep a dividend payout ratio of 40-60 percent despite the weak global economy.