Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, Jan 13 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks edged lower on Thursday, hurt by a slide in drugmaker Merck and as falling commodities prices hit shares of natural resource companies.

The S&P 500, however, held near 28-month highs as investors saw stocks' upward trend continuing, focusing on expectations for strong earnings.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> fell 23.54 points, or 0.20 percent, to 11,731.90. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> dropped 2.20 points, or 0.17 percent, to 1,283.76. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> dipped 2.04 points, or 0.07 percent, to 2,735.29.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, Jan 13 (Reuters) - U.S. crude prices slipped on Thursday after a volatile session as investors wrestled with disappointing U.S. jobs data that weighed on oil demand prospects and offset a weak dollar.

Traders eyed the prospects of OPEC acting to cool the recent rally, with Brent crude futures resting over $98 a barrel, after an OPEC delegate said the producer group would not meet unless prices moved above $100.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, February crude fell 46 cents, or 0.5 percent, to settle at $91.40 a barrel, trading from $90.91 to $92.37.

CBOT-CHICAGO, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade grain and soy complex futures close on Thursday.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - March up 1 cent at $14.16 per bushel. Jumped to a new 2-1/2 year peak on follow-through buying from the release on Wednesday of bullish USDA crop and stocks reports, hot weather in Argentina that was threatening the crop and on a falling dollar.

CBOT-SOYOIL - March down 0.16 cent per lb at 57.71 cents per lb. Pressure from lower crude oil.

FCPO-KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil
bounced on Thursday from three-week lows hit the previous day after key report showed a deeper-than-expected cut for U.S. soy stocks, signalling food demand was still strong

A dry spell in South America also prompted the U.S. Department of Agriculture to slash its forecast of Argentina's soy production by 3 percent from last month, fanning fears of a supply shortage.

Weaker global soybean production and end-stocks suggest less soybeans will be available for crushing into cooking oil, and consumers may rely more on palm oil.

Benchmark March 2011 crude palm oil ended up 1.2 percent to 3,694 Malaysian ringgit ($1,206)per tonne after going as high as 3,724 ringgit.

Overall traded volume stood at 30,330 lots of 25 tonnes each, compared to the usual 15,000 lots. Some traders said there could be more selling in palm oil in the coming days.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets climbed further on Thursday after a successful bond auction in Portugal eased fears about euro zone debt, for now at least, with financial shares standing out.

High global oil prices boosted appetite for energy and commodities in the resource-driven region, pushing the energy-dominated Thai benchmark <.SETI> up 1.5 percent, albeit in thin volume, with other bourses logging smaller gains.

Thai stocks saw sluggish turnover of just 0.53 times the average 30-day volume, trailing Malaysia's 0.89 and Indonesia's 1.07. Singapore was relatively active, with trade of 1.28 times.