DOW JONES-NEW YORK, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Banks dragged the U.S. stock market lower on Monday, with losses accelerating late after Bank of America's stock price fell below $5 for the first time in nearly three years.
Warnings of deteriorating conditions in the euro zone and concerns about tougher capital rules that could cut into big banks' profits pressured the financials throughout the day.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was down 100.13 points, or 0.84 percent, at 11,766.26. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was down 14.31 points, or 1.17 percent, at 1,205.35. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was down 32.19 points, or 1.26 percent, at 2,523.14.
NYMEX-NEW YORK, Dec 19 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures settled higher for the first time in four sessions Monday on supply worries as oil workers protested in Kazakhstan, the large Central Asian crude producer, and Iran faced the threat of more sanctions.
The American Petroleum Institute will release its weekly report on Tuesday, after the close. The U.S. Energy Information Administration will follow with its report on Wednesday morning.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, January crude
CBOT-SOYBEANS, Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade closed higher for a third straight session on worries about hot and dry weather in South American crop areas, traders said.
Southern Brazilian and Argentine soy areas are in line for isolated showers later this week but are not expected to break the cycle of hot weather that has been drying out the South American grain crop, forecasters said.
FCPO-KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures rose on Monday as investors grew concerned over hot weather hurting the South American soy crop, which could potentially limit global supplies of edible oil.
Gains were still muted on a sell-off in Asian financial markets, driven by worries of instability in the unpredictable state of North Korea and its nuclear programme after the death of leader Kim Jong-il, announced on Monday.
Benchmark March palm oil futures <0#FCPO:> on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange settled up 1.2 percent at 3,020 ringgit ($950).
REGIONAL EQUITIES-KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets posted limited gains on Monday as selective buying in growth stocks such as Indonesian cement firms and institutional buying of Thai large caps helped offset weak sentiment elsewhere in Asia.
News of the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il raised fears of regional instability, while the euro zone's debt crisis continued to keep investors away from risk assets.
Faring worst on the day, Singapore <.FTSTI> fell 1.55 percent to its lowest in more than two months. The city-state, seen as having greater exposure to global markets, fell 1.3 percent last week, the worst performance among the main Southeast Asian stock markets.
Stocks of banks and commodity firms such as Noble Group
