Breaking News-RTRS-INTERVIEW-UPDATE 1-SMART eyes palm oil expansion in Kalimantan

JAKARTA, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Indonesian palm oil giant PT SMART Tbk , accused by green groups of clearing valuable forest, aims to expand its plantations by 50,000 hectares a year, the company's president director said on Thursday.
SMART last month rejected fresh claims by Greenpeace that the firm was clearing peatland and high conservation value forests, which shelter endangered species and trap vast amounts of climate-warming greenhouse gases.
SMART runs the Indonesia palm oil operations of its Singapore-listed parent company Golden Agri-Resources (GAR) . GAR is controlled by the Widjaja family, whose business empire Sinar Mas has interests in pulp and paper, finance and property.

Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, Aug 5 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks edged lower on Thursday as an unexpected rise in initial jobless claims and unimpressive July retail sales dimmed optimism ahead of the monthly payrolls report.

Investors were cautious before Friday's jobs report, and after a 10 percent rise in the S&P 500 since July 2. Thursday's data showed initial claims for jobless benefits rose to 479,000, the highest level since early April.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> slipped 5.45 points, or 0.05 percent, to 10,674.98. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> dropped 1.43 points, or 0.13 percent, to 1,125.81. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> lost 10.51 points, or 0.46 percent, to 2,293.06.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, Aug 5 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures prices ended lower on Thursday, pressured by disappointing jobless claims and retail sales reports that fed concerns about energy demand a day after the government reported rising fuel stocks.

The jobless claims data combined with a report of weak July retail sales punctuated the uneasy economic climate and pushed U.S. stocks lower on Thursday ahead of Friday's closely watched July nonfarm payrolls report.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, September crude fell 46 cents, or 0.56 percent, to settle at $82.01 a barrel, trading from $81.56 to $82.48.

CBOT-CHICAGO, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade grain and soy complex close on Thursday.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - August up 2 cents at $10.55 per bushel; new-crop November up 4-3/4 at $10.29. Spillover support from surging wheat market following news Russia set a temporary ban on grain exports beginning Aug 15. Big export sales of U.S. soy also supportive, but gains limited by active hedge selling.

CBOT-SOYOIL - August down 0.10 cent per lb at 41.26 cents per lb. Late profit-taking selloff pressed market lower by the close.

FCPO-JAKARTA, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Malaysia crude palm oil futures surged to a fresh 4-1/2 month high on Thursday as investors covered short positions after a poll showed July's palm oil stock may hit a one-year low, as demand outpaced a weak recovery in production.

Gains in the wheat market driven by renewed concern over supply from the drought-hit Black Sea region also spilled over to palm oil market, offering support, traders said.

The benchmark October crude palm oil contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivative Exchange settled up 29 ringgit or 1.12 percent at 2,619 ringgit ($830) a tonne after trading as high as 2,623 ringgit -- a level not seen since March 15.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Indonesian stocks scored their biggest gain in two months on Thursday after better-than-expected economic growth in the second quarter.

Southeast Asia's biggest economy grew 6.2 percent in the April-June quarter thanks to strong exports, investment and consumer demand, fuelling expectations of full-year growth above 6 percent.

Shares in Singapore property developer CapitaLand gained nearly 1 percent after its second-quarter net profit beat market expectations.

The Philippines <.PSI> rose 0.5 percent to the highest level in more than 2-½ years. Malaysia <.KLSE> and Vietnam <.VNI> ended flat.