Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Global stock markets lacked conviction on Thursday, closing just marginally higher before technology bellwether Intel reported better-than-expected earnings that will likely boost Friday's trading.

The results - a 28 percent increase in fourth-quarter revenue plus a financial forecast well ahead of Wall Street's expectations - helps soften the early disappointing U.S. retail sales and weekly jobless claims data that undermined U.S. stocks.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, Jan 14 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures ended lower for the fourth session in a row on Thursday, weighed down by ample petroleum inventories and as the latest retail sales and jobless claims data fueled more worries about the U.S.
economic recovery.

In late trading, prices briefly edged up, though remaining range-bound, as some traders cited new U.S. regulatory proposals on position limits as not as adverse as feared.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, February crude settled down 26 cents, or 0.33 percent, at $79.39 a barrel, trading from $78.92 to $80.36.

CBOT-CHICAGO, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade grains and soy complex close on Thursday.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - January expired down 15 cents at $9.68-1/2 a bushel; March down 8-1/2 cents at $9.84 a bushel. Continued good crop weather in South America remains a bearish factor even as NOPA crush data indicates strong usage. Market continues to digest this week's bearish USDA production and stocks data.

CBOT-SOYOIL - January expired down 0.83 cent at 37.80 cents per lb; March down 0.48 cent at 38.53 cents.

FCPO-JAKARTA, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures rose 0.8 percent on Thursday on market talk of a recovering demand for exports and on short-covering after a nearly 2 percent loss the previous day, traders said.

They said there was market talk that exports for the first 15 days of January would rise about 12.5 percent to 680,000 tonnes from a month ago, bouncing back from a drop in the first 10 days, as shipments for the Jan. 11-15 period were strong.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Thailand's main stock index climbed to a three-month high on Thursday and Indonesian shares hit their highest in almost two years, with energy and resource shares such as PTT and Adaro energy leading the way.
Sentiment in Asian bourses improved as fears receded that China's policy tightening would slow its demand.

Singapore's index <.FTSTI> ended 0.7 percent higher, with Keppel Corp and Singapore Telecoms more than 1 percent higher.

Malaysia's index <.KLSE> rose 0.4 percent, led by a rise of nearly 2 percent in shipper MISC and a 1.5 percent climb in gaming group Genting .