Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, Sept 30 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday after a surprising contraction in an index of Midwest business activity, but buying of technology bellwethers like Cisco Systems Inc at the end of a strong quarter limited losses.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> slipped 29.92 points, or 0.31 percent, to 9,712.28. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> fell 3.53 points, or 0.33 percent, to 1,057.08. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> shed 1.62 points, or 0.08 percent, to 2,122.42.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, Sept 30 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures surged nearly 6 percent to end above $70 a barrel on Wednesday as refined product futures rallied on supportive inventory data and traders shrugged off a big increase in crude oil supplies.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, November crude settled up $3.90, or 5.85 percent, at $70.61 a barrel, trading from $66.22 to $70.72.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - November up 10 cents at $9.27 a bushel. Late fund buying tied to end of the quarter positioning boosted market as did harvest delays in U.S. along with rally in crude oil market and lower dollar.

Larger-than-expected U.S. soybean stocks number in USDA's September report limit gains.

CBOT-SOYOIL - October up 0.50 cent per lb at 33.97 cents per lb; December up 0.48 cent at 34.33. Rally in crude oil lifts soyoil.

FCPO-KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures edged lower on Wednesday, with traders saying sharp moves are unlikely for much of this week and next due to a lack of new leads and as big buyer China will be on holiday.

The benchmark December contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivative Exchange shed 7 ringgit to 2,103 ringgit ($607.8) per tonne after going as high as 2,121 ringgit. On Monday, the market fell to 2,082 ringgit, a level unseen since Sept. 14.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Singapore and Thailand eked out
small gains on Wednesday on late buying in big caps such as DBS Group and PTT, but some other Southeast Asian stock markets fell back after a surprise fall in U.S. consumer confidence.

Singapore's index <.FTSTI> ended up 0.4 percent while Thailand's <.SETI> was up 0.25 percent and Indonesia added 0.97 percent. Malaysia <.KLSE> fell 0.5 percent while indexes in the Philippines <.PSI> and Vietnam <.VNI> posted smaller losses.