DJI-NEW YORK, Nov 18 (Reuters) - The worst week for U.S. stocks in two months ended with traders mostly sitting it out on Friday as they waited for politicians in Europe and the United States to tackle festering debt problems.
The Dow and S&P 500 were little changed and the Nasdaq composite index fell.
Friday's directionless market showed more exhaustion than relief as Europe remained investors' primary worry. Stocks found support after Italian and Spanish bond yields fell thanks to buying by the European Central Bank.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> gained 25.43 points, or 0.22 percent, to 11,796.16. The S&P 500 <.SPX> dipped 0.48 point, or 0.04 percent, to 1,215.65. The Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> lost 15.49 points, or 0.60 percent, to 2,572.50.
NYMEX-NEW YORK, Nov 17 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures fell for a second straight day on Friday as an early rally due to a weaker dollar faded, giving way to profit-taking as traders liquidated December positions before the contract expired at the close.
For the week, U.S. crude futures finished with their first weekly loss in seven as the market tested key technical trendlines following six weeks of gains.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, December crude
CBOT-SOYBEANS, Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade ended higher, rallying toward the closing bell on short-covering that helped erase early declines tied to chart-based selling and long liquidation, traders said.
Soy market underpinned by a setback in the dollar <.DXY>, which fell against the euro on the possibility the European Central Bank will lend to the International Monetary Fund to bail out bigger euro zone economies.
FCPO-JAKARTA, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil extended earlier gains to touch a five-month high on Friday, with prices supported by lower output expectations due to a heavy monsoon and strong Chinese demand, although euro zone debt jitters limited the upside.
Benchmark January palm oil futures
Benchmark palm prices have surged about 18 percent since lows of below 2,800 ringgit hit in early October, and almost 4 percent this week.
Many traders are bullish on the fourth quarter and first quarter of next year, due to the onset of the monsoon season in dominant Southeast Asian producers.
REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets drifted lower on Friday, weighed down by financial shares as worries about the European debt crisis prompted investors to cut holdings of riskier assets.
Most markets extended their losses this week as investors held out little hope for a near-term resolution to the euro zone debt mess and worried about funding strains in Europe.
Leading the losers, Singapore's Straits Times Index <.FTSTI> ended down 1.72 percent to around a one-month low. It racked up losses for a third straight week, falling 1.8 percent, Southeast Asia's second-worst performance after Vietnam's 4.2 percent.
Thailand <.SETI> edged down 0.9 percent, Malaysia <.KLSE> eased 0.8 percent to two-week lows and Vietnam <.VNI> slid 1.6 percent to six-month lows.
