Breaking News-RTRS-La Nina may hurt Southeast Asian palm oil output-IOI

KUALA LUMPUR, July 19 (Reuters) - IOI Corp , Malaysia's No. 2 planter, expects the brewing La Nina weather event to have a major impact on palm oil production in Southeast Asia as heavier rainfall may hamper harvesting.
La Nina often follows after drier weather brought by an El Nino anomaly that emerged last year and can induce heavier rains in palm oil-producing Southeast Asia as well as drier weather in soy oil exporting Americas.

Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, July 16 (Reuters) - Dismal consumer sentiment data and anemic revenues from GE and two big banks slammed U.S. stocks on Friday, driving down major indexes more than 2 percent.

The slide in the S&P 500 was a decisive break of an 8 percent rise over the last two weeks as investors lost hope that strong earnings could overcome doubts about the economic outlook.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> dropped 261.41 points, or 2.52 percent, to 10,097.90. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> slid 31.60 points, or 2.88 percent, to 1,064.88. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> lost 70.03 points, or 3.11 percent, to 2,179.05.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, July 16 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures fell for the third consecutive day on Friday, ending the week a tad lower, as equities faltered on sour consumer mood, adding to worries about the slowing pace of economic recovery.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, August crude , which expires on Tuesday, settled down 61 cents, or 0.8 percent, at $76.01 a barrel. It traded from $75.25 to $77.15.

CBOT-CHICAGO, July 16 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade grain and soy complex close on Friday.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - August up 1/2 cent at $10.19-1/2 per bushel. Other months down 2-1/2 to 12-1/2 cents. Profit-taking after the strong rally on Thursday weighed on most soy futures contracts but there was some underpinning and spot August ended firm on concerns about some forecasts for hotter and drier weather in the U.S. in late July and August.

CBOT-SOYOIL - August down 0.28 cent per lb at 38.31 cents
per lb. Pressure from lower crude oil and profit-taking.

FCPO-JAKARTA, July 16 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil rose 1.58 percent on Friday after reaching a six-week high on concern erratic weather may cut competitive crop yields and on strong demand ahead of Ramadan in August.

The benchmark October contract on Bursa Malaysia's Derivatives Exchange rose 38 ringgit to 2,449 ringgit a tonne, after hitting an intraday high of 2,461 ringgit -- a level last seen in June 4. Overall volume stood at 26,327 lots of 25 tonnes each, nearly three times the usual 10,000 lots.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-COLOMBO, July 16 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets mostly rose on Friday, with Indonesia near a record high and Singapore hitting its highest in more than 10 weeks as investors sought out shares in companies likely to report good results.

Indonesia <.JKSE>, the region's best performer with an 18.1 percent return for the year to date, rose 0.4 percent and was just four points shy of its record high of 2,996.419 on May 4.

In Singapore, top lender DBS Group rose 1.2 percent and United Overseas Bank edged up 0.4 percent.

Shares in semiconductor distributor Serial System rose as much as 13 percent to a record high, lifted by the positive outlook for the semiconductor industry. It closed 8.7 percent firmer.

In Malaysia, financial firm CIMB Group and Public Bank of Malaysia both gained over 0.7 percent.