Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, Oct 23 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Friday, with the major indexes slipping for the first week in three, as industrial companies' weak results overshadowed robust earnings from tech and retail heavy-weights.

The U.S. dollar rose against the pound after data showed the UK posted its sixth straight quarter of contraction in gross domestic product, the longest stretch on record, and better-than-expected U.S. housing data gave the greenback an extra boost.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> dropped 109.13 points, or 1.08 percent, to 9,972.18, marking its second finish this week below the 10,000 mark. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> dropped 13.31 points, or 1.22 percent, to 1,079.60. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> dropped 10.82 points, or 0.50 percent, to 2,154.47.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, Oct 23 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures ended down for a second day in a row on Friday as worries about the pace of economic recovery and weak oil demand amid bulging stockpiles pressured the market, after prices jumped to a 2009
high this week.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, December crude settled down 69 cents, or 0.85 percent, at $80.50 a barrel, trading from $79.82 to $81.78. For the week, the
contract is up $1.97, or 2.51 percent.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - November up 1/2 cent at $10.06 a bushel. Ends firm but well below early highs amid a bout of profit-taking after notching 1-1/2 month high at $10.28 on firm U.S. CIF Gulf basis levels as rains limit movement into terminals. Concerns mount about crop losses given rains, which are forecast for the next two weeks.

CBOT-SOYOIL - December down 0.36 cent at 37.94 cents a lb. Slips amid meal/oil spreading, weaker crude oil.

FCPO-JAKARTA, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures rose 1.3 percent to their highest closing in more than seven weeks on Friday, underpinned by strength in rival soybean and crude oil prices, traders said.

The benchmark January contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivative Exchange settled up 28 ringgit at 2,238 ringgit ($662.13) a tonne, a level not seen since September 2. Overall volume was 16,202 lots of 25 tonnes each.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Stock markets in Thailand and
Indonesia fell for a third day on Thursday, with financials and big caps such as Siam Commercial Bank, Advanced Info Service, Bank Rakyat and Astra International leading the way down.

Singapore's index <.FTSTI> fell 0.4 percent, Malaysia's index <.KLSE> was flat and the Philippines <.PSI> lost 1.1 percent. Vietnam bucked the trend, rising 0.9 percent.

In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian Airline gained nearly 1 percent to 3.08 ringgit after Ambank upgraded the airline to "buy" and raised fair value for the stock to 3.90 ringgit