Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, July 8 (Reuters) - The Dow and the Nasdaq eked out gains on Wednesday as a late-stage rally brought stocks off their lows on hopes that the quarterly earnings season would deliver good news.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> gained 14.81 points, or 0.18 percent, to 8,178.41. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> dropped 1.47 points, or 0.17 percent, to 879.56. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> added 1.00 points, or 0.06 percent, to 1,747.17.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, July 8 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures ended down for the sixth straight session on Wednesday, hitting the lowest close in seven weeks, as government data showed larger-than-expected increases in distillate and gasoline
inventories last week. OPEC expects global demand to fall to 84.2 million bpd this year from 85.6 million bpd last year.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, August crude settled down $2.79, or 4.43 pct, at $60.14 a barrel, the lowest close since May 19's $59.65. It traded from $60.01 to $62.68.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - July down 49-1/2 cents at $10.84 a bushel, November down 3 cents at $8.92 a bushel.

Long-liquidation weighs on market. Nearby contract falls below $11 a bushel for the first time since early May ahead of expiration of July contract.

CBOT-SOYOIL - July down 0.82 cent at 32.08 cents a lb. Following nearby soybeans with weak crude oil also lending pressure.

FCPO--KUALA LUMPUR, July 8 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures tumbled 4.2 percent to a 14-week low on Wednesday on fears global economic recovery could stall in the second half of the year, triggering a rush out of commodities.

The benchmark September contract on Bursa Malaysia's Derivatives Exchange fell as much as 86 ringgit to 1,983 ringgit ($557) per tonne, a level unseen since March 31, before settling at 2,002 ringgit. Volumes shot up to 14,560 lots at 25 tonnes each.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, July 8 (Reuters) - Some Southeast Asia stock markets
hit two-week lows on Wednesday amid worries about the global recovery and corporate earnings, with Thailand leading regional losses after weaker crude oil hurt its heavyweight energy shares.

Thai shares <.SETI> lost 1.3 percent on the first day of trading after a two-day break. Singapore's Straits Times Index <.FTSTI> ended down 0.6 percent after falling to its lowest level in two weeks, like Malaysia <.KLSE>, which lost 0.1 percent. The Philippine index <.PSI> slid 0.4 percent, while Vietnam <.VNI> shed 0.2 percent.