Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, Aug 5 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks slipped on Wednesday after weak data on the services sector and private payrolls cooled recent optimism the recession was retreating, but the market finished off its lows as investors ventured into riskier financial shares.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> slipped 39.22 points, or 0.42 percent, to 9,280.97. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> shed 2.93 points, or 0.29 percent, to 1,002.72. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> lost 18.26 points, or 0.91 percent, to 1,993.05.

A report from ADP showed that private employers cut 371,000 jobs in July, suggesting the labor market remained weak. The U.S. Labor Department's non-farm payrolls report at the end of the week is expected to show 320,000 jobs were lost in July, according to economists polled by Reuters.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, Aug 5 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures rose Wednesday afternoon, lifted by a weakening of the dollar, after
earlier falling on government data that showed crude oil inventories rose much more than expected last week.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, September crude settled up 55 cents, or 0.77 percent, at $71.97, after trading from $69.71 to $72.10, highest since Monday's intraday high of $72.20. The June 30 peak of $73.38 was the highest intraday front-month crude oil price since crude hit $75.69 on Oct. 21.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - August up 10 cents per bushel at $11.75. New-crop November up 13-1/2 at $10.45. Support from hotter weather in the U.S. crop region that led to concerns about potential harm to the soybean crop.

CBOT-SOYOIL - August up 0.07 cent per lb at 37.52. Support from gains in soy.

FCPO-KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures ended up 1.3 percent on Wednesday, easing off 7-week highs hit earlier as weaker crude oil weighed on production concerns in a top palm oil growing region in the Southeast Asian country.

The benchmark October contract on Bursa Malaysia's Derivatives Exchange hit a session high of 2,357 ringgit ($674), a level unseen since June 18, but settled at 2,333 ringgit.

A Reuters poll on Malaysia's overall palm oil production, stocks and exports in July will be issued on Thursday.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Indonesian shares fell almost 2 percent on Wednesday, snapping a four-day winning streak and leading major Southeast Asian stock markets lower as investors unloaded shares since a rate-cutting cycle now seems over.

Singapore's index <.FTSTI> fell for a second day, sliding 1.6 percent to its lowest since July 30. Malaysia's index <.KLSE> inched down 0.03 percent and Thailand's <.SETI> fell 0.2 percent.

In Kuala Lumpur, the index was weighed down by a 1.3 percent fall in Bumiputra Commerce and a 1.8 percent loss in Petronas , but palm planter IOI Corp rose 3.4 percent as Malaysian palm oil futures hit a seven-week high.