Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Banks led U.S. stocks lower on Thursday as investors fretted a widening foreclosure crisis could undermine the market's strength over the last five weeks.

The S&P 500 has rallied 11.9 percent since Sept. 1 and volume has picked up from anemic levels. But the rally could weaken as an index of bank stocks fell nearly 3 percent on Thursday over growing fears the foreclosure problems could bleed into the broader credit markets and the economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> dipped 1.51 points, or 0.01 percent, to 11,094.57. The Standard & Poor's 500 <.SPX> dropped 4.29 points, or 0.36 percent, to 1,173.81. The Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> shed 5.85 points, or 0.24 percent, to 2,435.38.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, Oct 14 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures slipped on Thursday as disappointing jobless claims data and losses on Wall Street pressured oil despite a weak dollar and a government report of an unexpected slip in oil stockpiles.

OPEC's decision to leave production targets unchanged and a forecast from an analyst that OPEC exports will rise in the four weeks to Oct. 30 helped curb oil, even as the dollar's slump and a strike affecting French refineries lent support.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, November crude fell 32 cents or 0.39 percent to settle at $82.69 a barrel, trading from $82.21 to $84.12.

CBOT-CHICAGO, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade grain and soybean complex closing trends on Thursday.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - November up 12 cents at $11.88-1/2 a bushel; January up 12 at $11.99. Strong export demand for U.S. supplies continues to underpin prices despite weak crude oil market. NOPA monthly crush figure as well as lower dollar also viewed as bullish.

CBOT-SOYOIL - December up 0.44 at 48.02 cents per lb. Weak dollar, rally in soybeans supportive but falling crude oil market limits gains.

FCPO-KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Asian vegetable oil markets hit their highest in more than two years on Thursday, with palm oil hovering near a key resistance level on a weaker U.S. dollar and supply concerns.

The dollar fell to a ten-month low against a basket of currencies, fuelled by expectations of monetary easing by the U.S. Federal Reserve and raising hopes for stronger demand for cheaper dollar-priced products like soyoil and palm oil.

Malaysian palm oil futures <0#KPO:> ended half a percent lower after going as high as 2,970 ringgit ($960.8), a level not seen since August. 1 2008 and within striking distance of the key 3,000 ringgit resistance level.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets ended firmer on Thursday, with foreign inflows rising on the back of a weak dollar, but late profit-taking helped pull indexes from multi-year highs.

Thailand <.SETI> and Indonesia <.JKSE> ended with small gains but the Philippines <.PSI> climbed almost 1 percent as foreign inflows hit the highest this year.

Malaysia <.KLSE> inched lower, after at one point touching a 33-month high, while Singapore <.FTSTI> ended down 0.2 percent after earlier approaching a 29-month high.

Singapore's central bank increased the slope of the band in which it maintains the Singapore dollar , effectively a slight tightening of monetary policy. The Singapore dollar surged to a record high in reaction.

Singapore palm oil company Wilmar International Ltd rose 4.2 percent, while Thailand's top olefins maker, PTT Aromatics and Refining Pcl , jumped 4.4 percent.

Malaysia's top power producer, Tenaga Nasional Berhad , rose 0.3 percent and Indonesia's biggest gas operator, PT Perusahaan Gas Negara Tbk , gained 3.13 percent.