Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Wall Street ended a fourth week of losses on a down note on Friday as most buyers left the market before the weekend on growing fears of another U.S. recession and destabilization in Europe's financial system.

Investors already reeling from big losses in growth stocks were thumped by a dismal outlook from Hewlett-Packard, which dropped nearly 20 percent, its worst day since the stock-market crash of 1987.

It was the latest discouraging event in a month full of bad surprises ranging from the U.S. credit rating downgrade to a sharp slowdown in world growth. The S&P has lost 13.1 percent so far this month -- on track for its worst month since October 2008.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI fell 172.93 points, or 1.57 percent, to end at 10,817.65. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX dropped 17.12 points, or 1.50 percent, to 1,123.53. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC slid 38.59 points, or 1.62 percent, to close at 2,341.84.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, Aug 19 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures ended lower on Friday after a late-session reversal to negative territory on continuing worries about the economy, after a series of negative data on Thursday.

Prices also fell as investors took some pre-weekend profits or squared books ahead of the front-month contract's expiration on Monday.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude for September delivery CLU1 settled at $82.26 a barrel, dipping 12 cents, or 0.15 percent, after trading between $79.17 to $83.55.

CBOT-SOYBEANS-Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade closed higher on short-covering ahead of the weekend and worries that much-needed rains expected in the U.S. Midwest might fall short, traders said.Weak U.S. dollar .DXY adds support.

Rally limited by fears the U.S. economy may slip back into a recession and mounting worries about the global banking system.

FCPO-JAKARTA, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures eased to a one-week low on Friday, as uncertainty clouding the global economic outlook offset expectations of improving demand for the vegetable oil.

The benchmark November contract KPOc3 on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange ended down 0.8 percent at 3,003 Malaysian ringgit ($1,005) per tonne. It earlier hit a low of 2,990 ringgit, the lowest since Aug. 11. Prices were down 0.4 percent for the week.

Traded volumes for the contract were at 9,358 lots of 25 tonnes each, compared to 11,513 lots on Thursday.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets tumbled on Friday, with index heavyweights coming under selling pressure as investors shifted money out of riskier assets because of worries over slowing global growth.

Indonesia .JKSE suffered its biggest fall in two weeks, tumbling 4.4 percent, with banks in particular hit. Singapore .FTSTI had its largest loss in almost two weeks at 3.2 percent.

Stocks in Malaysia .KLSE and Thailand .SETI ended the day with smaller drops of less than 2 percent. Philippine shares .PSI and Vietnam .VNI fell 1.45 percent and 0.5 percent respectively.

The selling intensifed late in the session after European shares .FTSE extended the previous session's sharp sell-off and U.S. stock index futures pointed to a sharply lower start on Wall Street.

Singapore fell for a third week, losing 4.1 percent, the worst in the region. Indonesia posted a weekly loss of 1.2 percent, with Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines posting more limited falls.

In Singapore, rig builder Keppel Corp KPLM.SI lost 4.9 percent and rival Sembcorp Marine SCMN.SI retreated 8.8 percent on concern that weaker oil prices could adversely affect demand for rigs.