Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, May 23 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks closed at their lowest levels in a month on Monday in a sign of increasing doubt that equity markets can weather recent weakness in global manufacturing and demand.

Industrial, energy and technology stocks, closely related to growth, were among the day's top decliners. Poor manufacturing figures from Germany and China were a surprise and gave investors reason to shed positions in those industries.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> dropped 130.78 points, or 1.05 percent, to 12,381.26. The Standard & Poor's 500 <.SPX> lost 15.90 points, or 1.19 percent, to 1,317.37. The Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> fell 44.42 points, or 1.58 percent, to 2,758.90.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, May 23 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures ended more than 2 percent lower on Monday, dropping below $100 a barrel once more as euro-zone debt worries pulled down the euro against the dollar and on news of slower manufacturing growth in China and Europe.

Investors sought to limit risk and sold commodities as the euro fell to a two-month low versus the dollar and a record trough against the Swiss franc. [USD/] In late trading, the dollar was up 0.92 percent against a basket of currencies. <.DXY>

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, the July crude contract settled at $97.70 a barrel, down $2.40, or 2.4 percent, after trading between $96.37 to $100.04.

CBOT-Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade closed lower, pressured by a stronger U.S. dollar and spillover weakness from crude oil, traders said.

Front-month July soybeans led the market lower, losing ground to new-crop November as traders exited bull spreads in a reversal of a five-week-old trend.

FCPO-JAKARTA, May 23 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures fell more than 1 percent on Monday, as renewed worries about euro-zone debt weighed on risk sentiment and helped push prices lower.

The benchmark August crude palm oil contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives exchange closed 1 percent lower at 3,355 ringgit ($1,113) a tonne.

Earlier on Monday, prices briefly matched a near six-week high from Friday at 3,407 ringgit. Traded volumes stood at more than a two-week high at 17,205 lots at 25 tonnes each, compared with a total of 12,297 lots from Friday.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, May 23 (Reuters) - Major Southeast Asian stock markets fell to multi-week lows on Monday as worries that Greece's debt problems could hurt the global economic recovery took a toll on global risk assets and weak commodity markets fuelled a sell-off in resource shares.

Stock markets in the region reported foreign outflows on the day as money shifted to safe assets.

Stocks in Singapore <.FTSTI> and Thailand <.SETI> fell almost 2 percent, with Malaysia <.KLSE> and the Philippines <.PSI> posting smaller losses. All hovered around two-week lows. Indonesian coal miner Adaro Energy fell 2.1 percent, Energy Development Corp , the Philippines' largest producer of geothermal power, eased 1.1 percent and Malaysian palm oil firm IOI Corp dropped 1.5 percent.

Among regional bright spots, Singapore-listed tin producer Malaysia Smelting Corporation rose as much as 4.3 percent after outlining acquisition and expansion plans.