Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, March 4 (Reuters) - Wall Street erased most of its weekly gains on Friday as fears of more geopolitical turmoil and higher oil prices threaten to stifle rallies in coming weeks.

The worries overshadowed strong labor market news. U.S. unemployment fell below 9 percent for the first time in nearly two years, but investors quickly turned to focus on intensified fighting in Libya and simmering unrest throughout the region.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was down 88.32 points, or 0.72 percent, at 12,169.88. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was down 9.82 points, or 0.74 percent, at 1,321.15. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was down 14.07 points, or 0.50 percent, at 2,784.67.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, March 4 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures rose to a near 2-1/2 year high on Friday as fierce fighting between loyalists to Libya's Muammar Gaddaffi and rebels seeking to oust him from power raised more fears of supply disruptions.

Upbeat U.S. jobs data helped lift crude futures at a faster pace than their Brent counterpart traded in London, narrowing the discount of U.S. crude against Brent to $11.55 a barrel from $12.88 at the close on Thursday.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude for April delivery settled at $104.42 a barrel, gaining $2.51, or 2.46 percent, the highest since the Sept. 26, 2008 close at $106.89. The contract traded from $101.54 to $104.60.

CBOT-CHICAGO, March 4 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade grain and soy complex close on Friday.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - May up 2 cents at $14.14 per bushel. New-crop November down 1-1/2 cents at $13.61. Supported by labor unrest at Argentine ports that was posing a threat to soy shipments, wet weather in portions of Brazil that was slowing soy harvest and gains in crude oil that gave soyoil a boost.

CBOT-SOYOIL - May up 0.71 cent per lb at 59.48. Boosted by gains in crude oil, higher soybeans and oil/meal spreading.

FCPO-JAKARTA, March 4 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures climbed to a one-week high on Friday, with sentiment driven by rising crude prices as the crisis in Libya and parts of the Middle East showed little sign of resolution.

The benchmark May 2011 crude palm oil contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives added 1.7 percent to 3,660 Malaysian ringgit ($1,207) a tonne. Earlier, prices rose to a high of 3,665 ringgit, the highest since Feb. 22.

Overall, traded volume stood at 11,410 lots of 25 tonnes each, compared with a one-week high of 16,012 lots on Thursday.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, March 4 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets rose on Friday amid optimism about the U.S. economic recovery and a decision by Indonesia to maintain interest rates boosted big-cap banks, pushing its market index to a five-week high.

Most indexes were around multi-week highs, with Singapore <.FTSTI> edging up 0.8 percent, Malaysia <.KLSE> 1 percent, Thailand <.SETI> almost 1 percent and the Philippines up 1.3 percent.

In Singapore, developer Hongkong Land jumped 3.8 percent after it reported strong annual earnings but commodity trading firm Noble Group fell 2.3 percent after it said it had entered into a share placement agreement.