Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Shares slumped globally on Thursday and the dollar gained against the euro as investors reassessed optimistic expectations for a rebound in world economic growth.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> dropped 93.87 points, or 0.9 percent, at 10,322.44. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> fell 14.90 points, or 1.34 percent, at 1,094.90. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> dropped 36.32 points, or 1.66 percent, at 2,156.82.

The U.S. dollar and the yen climbed, with major European currencies and the New Zealand and Australian dollars being the biggest losers. Despite the dollar's strength, it has still lost about 20 percent versus the euro since early March.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, Nov 19 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures ended nearly 3 percent lower on Thursday, as Wall Street declined broadly on worries about corporate earnings despite generally positive economic data for the day.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, December crude , which expires on Friday, settled $2.12 lower, or 2.66 percent, at $77.46 a barrel, trading from $77.06 to $79.87.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - January up 12 cents at $10.39 a bushel. Big export sales of U.S. soy and news from USDA of a sale of U.S. soybeans to China lifts soybean market. Showers that are slowing harvest in some U.S. soybean areas may also underpin prices. Gains limited by firm dollar, lower crude oil and gold and downturn in stock market.

CBOT-SOYOIL - December down 0.30 cent at 39.45 cents per lb. Falling crude oil and firm dollar weigh on soyoil futures.

FCPO-JAKARTA, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures dropped 1.2 percent on Thursday as investors locked in their profits, after the price rose on Wednesday to hit its highest level in more than three months, traders said. Investors shrugged off a leak of the export data showing that Nov. 1-20 exports rose 18 percent to 960,000 tonnes, as the figure had already been priced into the recent rally, traders said. The date is due to be released by cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Service (ITS) on Friday.

The benchmark February contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange settled down 29 ringgit to 2,371 ringgit ($699.51) per tonne. Overall volume shot up to 18,805 lots of 25 tonnes each, compared to the usual 10,000 lots.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Singapore's stock market gained on Thursday as optimism about the economic outlook pushed up big caps such as SingTel and lender OCBC, while Malaysia showed a modest gain as telecoms firm Maxis made a positive debut.

The Straits Times Index <.FTSTI> rose 0.5 percent, erasing part of a two-day loss of 1.4 percent, with Singapore Telecommunications , Southeast Asia's biggest telecom firm, up 1 percent and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp 1.2 percent higher.

However, analysts said it may struggle to go higher because of the sector's steep valuations and sluggish growth prospects. Malaysia <.KLSE> edged up 0.12 percent, with top mobile phone operator Maxis making a strong market debut after its $3.3 billion initial public offering, ending at 5.42 ringgit compared with its IPO price of 5.00 ringgit.