Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Bruised but not bowed, bulls staged a rebound on Thursday and helped stocks stabilize in a volatile session suggesting investors aren't ready to give up on the market's rally.

The S&P 500 recovered off early lows triggered by deepening concerns that higher oil could stifle economic activity. Stocks hit their worst levels when Brent crude neared $120 a barrel on Libya's turmoil.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> fell 37.28 points, or 0.31 percent, to end at 12,068.50. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> slipped 1.30 points, or 0.10 percent, to finish at 1,306.10. But the Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> rose 14.91 points, or 0.55 percent, to close at 2,737.90.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, Feb 24 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures dropped more than 2 percent in a late sell-off on Thursday on rumors that Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi had been shot, wiping out gains in a rally to near 2-1/2-year highs.

Earlier, news that Saudi Arabia was in talks with European companies affected by the disruption of Libyan supplies and was willing and able to plug any gap appeared to have capped the day's highs, traders said.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude for April delivery settled at $97.28 a barrel, down 82 cents, or 0.84 percent, after rallying to $103.41, the highest since Sept. 29, 2008's intraday peak of $106.91. Post-settlement, it fell further to $95.62, down $2.48, or 2.52 percent.

CBOT-CHICAGO, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade grain and soy complex closing trends on Thursday.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - May down 2-1/4 cents at $13.29-1/4 per bushel. Lower on long liquidation amid fears that ongoing turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa could crimp long-term demand for grains. Losses pared by late short-covering.

CBOT-SOYOIL - May down 0.42 cent at 55.28 cents per lb. Following soybeans lower.

FCPO-KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Palm oil ended off three-month lows on Thursday with other vegetable oil markets limiting losses on surging crude oil although concerns lingered over Libyan unrest spreading and slowing economic growth.

Palm oil hit its lowest since Nov. 29 with much of the selling pressure coming from refiners and funds cutting positions.

Traders said palm oil's high premium to soyoil narrowed to about $10 from $70, which may attract demand from price sensitive India and China -- the world's top two buyers of the vegetable oil.

The benchmark May crude palm oil contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange dived 5.1 percent to 3,336 ringgit ($1,095) before settling much higher at 3,457 ringgit per tonne. Traded volumes surged to 48,704 lots of 25 tonnes each, more than triple of the usual 15,000 lots seen at the close.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets fell on Thursday, fretting over the potential impact of the spike in global energy costs on economic growth, with airlines coming under particular pressure but palm oil and bank stocks also hit.

Markets gave up early gains as Brent oil surged more than 7.5 percent to its highest since August 2008.

Other stock markets finished around their day's lows. Singapore's stock index <.FTSTI> lost nearly 1 percent, at one point hitting the lowest in six months, and Malaysia <.KLSE> fell 1.4 percent to the lowest in almost three months. Indonesia <.JKSE> fell 1 percent.

Airline companies pulled back further amid concerns over the rise in fuel costs, led by a 5 percent drop in Malaysia's AirAsia and a 4.6 percent fall in the Philippines' Cebu Air .

In an effort to attract more funds, stock exchanges in Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand are keen to set up trading links between their markets to help liquidity.

Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij said on Wednesday that liquidity was the key to market success for Thailand and similar small equity markets.