Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Commodity-related stocks drove Wall Street lower on Wednesday as stiff declines in energy and metals prices underscored investor concerns about global economic weakness and Europe's raging debt crisis.

A sharp 7 percent dive in the price of copper, seen as a leading indicator for the economy, rattled investors and led to a drop of 4.5 percent in the S&P materials index .GSPM. Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc FCX.N fell 7.3 percent to $32.29.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI dropped 179.79 points, or 1.61 percent, to 11,010.90. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX dropped 24.32 points, or 2.07 percent, to 1,151.06. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC dropped 55.25 points, or 2.17 percent, to 2,491.58.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, Sept 28 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures ended more than 3 percent lower on Wednesday, in a broad commodities sell-off ahead of a German parliamentary vote Thursday on whether to back new powers for the euro zone rescue fund.

Whether Greece would get more euro zone aid also added to festering worries about the region's fiscal health.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude for November delivery CLX1 fell back after two days of gains and settled down $3.24, or 3.84 percent, at $81.21 a barrel, after trading from $81.11 to $84.62.

CBOT-SOYBEANS-Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade fell 3.3 percent, the biggest single-day drop in more than six months, and hit a 10-month low as macroeconomic worries and U.S. harvest pressure triggered fund long liquidation, traders said.

A 3.5 percent decline in U.S. crude oil futures amid ongoing concerns over the euro zone crisis added pressure.

Heavy volume in soybean futures at more than 220,000 contracts, roughly 30 percent above the 30-day average. Volume in soymeal and soyoil futures was also large.

FCPO-JAKARTA, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures fell 1.3 percent on Wednesday, weighed down by losses in other edible oils and investor worries about the ability of European leaders to tackle a debt crisis threatening the global financial system.

Benchmark December palm oil futures 0#FCPO: on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed at 2,910 ringgit ($925) a tonne. Earlier, prices had fallen as low as 2,885 ringgit.

On Monday, benchmark palm prices fell to 2,857 ringgit, the lowest level in almost one year, and have eased 3 percent so far this week as concerns about the global economy dominate sentiment.

Traded volumes for the November contract stood at 18,649 lots of 25 tonnes each compared with 14,191 lots on Tuesday.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Stocks in Thailand and Singapore fell in light volume on Wednesday as players booked quick profits from a rebound the previous day, while others in the region pushed up cautiously, with the euro zone crisis still hanging over the market.

Trading was choppy, dominated by short-term traders, and foreign flows to Southeast Asia remained thin.

Singapore stocks .FTSTI lost 0.9 percent and Thai stocks .SETI dropped 1.6 percent, reversing an early climb. Stocks in Malaysia .KLSE and Indonesia .JKSE rose for a second session, after Monday's heavy losses.

Investors remain dubious about rebuilding positions in the region, even though valuations now look attractive. However, end-quarter flows from domestic institutions appeared to be on the rise in Thailand and Malaysia.