Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, March 11 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks closed the week on a high note on Friday, on relief that unrest did not engulf top oil producer Saudi Arabia, calming some investors who worried the market was entering a near-term slide.

Stocks snapped back from early-week losses even as other markets were hit hard by a devastating earthquake in Japan, the country's strongest on record. Oil refiners and
industrial-related shares led Wall Street higher.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> rose 59.79 points, or 0.50 percent, at 12,044.40. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> climbed 9.17 points, or 0.71 percent, at 1,304.28. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> added 14.59 points, or 0.54 percent, at 2,715.61.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, March 11 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures ended lower for a fourth day on Friday after a massive earthquake pounded Japan, raising worries of lower oil demand in the world's third largest oil consumer.

A security clampdown in the Saudi capital of Riyadh kept protests muted on a planned "Day of Rage," and police action in Kuwait and Bahrain neutralized activists, helping keep the oil price from going up.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude for April delivery settled at $101.16 a barrel, down $1.54, after trading between $99.01 and $103.

CBOT-CHICAGO, March 11 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures closed sharply lower on Friday, unable to shake off early losses that came amid liquidation of long positions following a massive earthquake in Japan, traders said.

End-user buying tempered soybean losses around midday, but prices remained under pressure. Traders said funds were sellers on the way way down, dwarfing commercial buyers.

FCPO-KUALA LUMPUR, March 11 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil dropped to a two week low on Friday and notched its worst weekly loss in more than two years after a massive earthquake hit Japan, adding to a bleak global economic outlook.

Palm oil lost 8.1 percent this week after industry regulator reported that stocks in No.2 producer Malaysia rose to a two-month high on unexpectedly strong production and higher imports.

The benchmark May crude palm oil contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives dropped as much as 3 percent to 3,356 ringgit ($1,146), a level unseen since Feb. 24.The market ended at 3,364 ringgit. Traded volume more than doubled to 33,383 lots of 25 tonnes each, compared to the usual 15,000 lots.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, March 11 (Reuters) - Major Southeast Asian stock markets fell more than 1 percent on Friday as a massive earthquake hit Japan and fuelled late selling in markets already jittery about the unrest in oil-producing countries.

Southeast Asian exporters to Japan were among the losers, worried about this latest setback to Japan's economy, while airline firms fell on fears of a drop in tourist numbers.

Most regional markets posted losses for the week, reversing last week's gains, as investors worried that the spike in oil prices would increase inflationary pressure and hurt emerging economies. Other Asian markets fell, too.

Singapore's main share index <.FTSTI> hovered around two-week lows, with most others around a one-week low.

A tsunami warning has been issued for the entire Pacific basin, including Indonesia and the Philippines, following the Japanese earthquake.

Singapore Airlines , the world's second most valuable carrier, eased 1.6 percent, Malaysian national carrier Malaysian Airline System dropped 2.1 percent and Thai Airways International plunged 4.2 percent.

Elsewhere, Malaysia's central bank lifted bank reserve requirements on Friday but kept interest rates on hold, while signalling that a rise could be on the cards as food and fuel inflation force a tightening across much of Asia.