Trader's Highlight

NEW YORK, March 16 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and Nasdaq turned negative for the year on 2011's highest volume in a sharp selloff on Wednesday as investors feared Japan's nuclear crisis could worsen.

The Dow also cut its gains for the year as markets guarded against possible further losses in the near term. Major indexes lost around 2 percent in a volatile session.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was down 242.12 points, or 2.04 percent, at 11,613.30. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was down 24.99 points, or 1.95 percent, at 1,256.88. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was down 50.51 points, or 1.89 percent, at 2,616.82.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, March 16 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures ended higher on Wednesday in volatile trading as Middle East unrest provided lift before mounting concern over Japan's nuclear crisis and weak equities limited gains.

The potential for supply disruption highlighted by violent clashes in Bahrain and Yemen, both near top OPEC producer Saudi Arabia, and continued fighting in Libya supported crude.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, April crude rose 80 cents, or 0.8 percent, to settle at $97.98 a barrel, trading from $96.22 to $99.60.

CBOT-CHICAGO, March 16 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures ended sharply higher on Wednesday, shrugging off concerns about the economic impact of earthquake-ravaged Japan and focusing on soggy weather in Brazil, which is hampering the harvest in its top soy-growing state, traders said.

May soybeans ended 19-1/4 cents a bushel higher at $12.89-1/4, up about 1.5 percent, a solid rebound from Tuesday's limit-down close, when the May contract fell to a 3-1/2-month low.

FCPO-JAKARTA, March 16 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures shed as much as 3 percent on Wednesday, tracking other commodity prices lower as the nuclear crisis in Japan sent investors scrambling for perceived safe haven assets.

The benchmark May 2011 crude palm oil contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives ended down at 3,347 Malaysian ringgit($1,091) a tonne, after earlier touching a low of 3,268 ringgit.

Prices of the vegetable oil, used in products such as food, cosmetics, tyres and biofuels, hit a near four-month low of 3,250 on Tuesday.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, March 16 (Reuters) - Major Southeast Asian stock markets edged higher on Wednesday despite continuing worries over Japan's nuclear problems, with investors buying companies that depend on the domestic economy and selected power firms.

The potential impact of the Japanese earthquake on regional economies meant trading was generally moderate, with turnover on most markets slightly lower than the 30-day average.

Singapore's share index <.FTSTI> climbed 0.9 percent. It had suffered losses of more than 4 percent in the previous three sessions, among Southeast Asia's worst hit markets.

Asian financial markets in general rallied on Wednesday, with Tokyo stocks rebounding 5.7 percent after a steep two-day sell-off. The MSCI index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan <.MIAPJ0000PUS> was up 1 percent by 0929 GMT and the MSCI index of emerging market stocks <.MSCIEF> 0.90 percent.

Among advancers, Thai PTT Aromatics and Refining , an integrated complex refinery and aromatics producer, rose 1.4 percent, Malaysia's Shell Refining gained 0.8 percent and Indonesian coal miner Harum Energy climbed 1.7 percent.