DJI- NEW YORK, Oct 26 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks finished flat on Friday, recovering from moderate declines as bargain hunters rushed in to buy Apple, lifting it off its lows, and scooped up other stocks recently battered by disappointing results.
For the week, though, stocks slid, following a series of weak results, especially from U.S. multinational companies.
Apple's stock pulled back sharply from its session low, although it still ended down 0.9 percent at $604. The world's largest publicly traded company surprised analysts late Thursday with its weak margin outlook, as well as with its quarterly earnings and iPad sales that fell short of expectations. The stock had fallen as low as $591 in Friday's session.
The PHLX semiconductor index <.SOX> rose 0.5 percent. A number of companies, including Intel , bounced back from losses last week, when the dominant chipmaker reported net earnings and revenue that missed estimates. In Friday's session, Intel's stock gained 1.2 percent to close at $21.95.
"As people chose to buy the dips in Apple, I think that gave people a little bit more conviction to buy other names," said Michael James, senior trader at Wedbush Morgan, in Los Angeles.
"You've also had a continued theme of buying semiconductor stocks after disappointing earnings. That's frustrating those that are short and has led to continued covering."
Investors had a muted reaction to U.S. data showing a slightly better-than-expected pace of growth for the economy.
The 2 percent annual rate of growth for U.S. gross domestic product for the third quarter confirmed analysts' views that the economic recovery will be slow.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> edged up 3.53 points, or 0.03 percent, to close at 13,107.21. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> dipped 1.03 points, or 0.07 percent, to finish at 1,411.94. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> gained 1.83 points, or 0.06 percent, to end at 2,987.95.
For the week, the Dow fell 1.8 percent, the S&P 500 lost 1.5 percent and the Nasdaq dropped 0.6 percent.
Lighter revenues have been a concern this earnings season. Just 36.9 percent of S&P 500 companies so far have reported revenue that beat forecasts, compared with the 62 percent that typically exceed expectations, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Earnings have fared better, with 62.5 percent above expectations - almost even with the 62 percent that is historically seen.
Amazon.com Inc escaped the market's malaise, climbing 6.9 percent to $238.24 as analysts said the online retailer's spending will hurt margins, but boost profit in the long run.
Adding to uncertainty was the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 6 - a little over a week away. Along with earnings and growth worries, concerns about further political loggerheads have helped push the benchmark S&P 500 index below a key support level, the 50-day moving average, at around 1,434.
Many analysts expect the S&P 500's retreat to wane near 1,400 or 1,375, as the Federal Reserve's latest stimulus policy puts a floor under stock prices.
Some of investors' attention on Friday may have been diverted from the market to following news about Hurricane Sandy, which could make landfall along the East Coast, including New York, early next week. By Friday afternoon, the storm had killed at least 41 people as it tore across the Caribbean.
The New York Stock Exchange said it plans on business as usual, adding that it has contingency plans to keep the market running - relying on back-up power generation facilities, if necessary. The NYSE also said in a statement that it will make accommodations for critical staff and traders.
In addition, NASDAQ OMX said in a statement that it has plans to make sure its systems are ready, noting that it will be regularly communicating with its members before, up to and after the storm.
Among other stocks that finished Friday's session with a gain, Honeywell International edged up 0.1 percent to $61.49. The diversified U.S. manufacturer, whose products range from aircraft electronics to building control systems, said on Friday that it would raise its quarterly dividend by 10 percent to 41 cents per share, starting with the fourth-quarter dividend payment on Dec. 10.
Volume was moderate on Friday, with about 6.02 billion shares traded on the NYSE, the Nasdaq and the NYSE MKT, compared with daily average volume of 6.51 billion for the year to date.
NYMEX-NEW YORK, Oct 26 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures edged up for a second day on Friday, but posted a weekly loss, recovering from an early slide as crude oil prices received support from strong refined products futures that were lifted by Hurricane Sandy's threat to East Coast refining.
CBOT SOYBEAN-U.S. soybeans slipped for a second straight day on signs of waning U.S. exports and improving crop weather prospects in South America that could lead to bumper output in Brazil and Argentina.
Chicago Board of Trade November soybeans were down 2-3/4 cents per bushel at $15.61-1/4. December corn was down 4-1/4 cents at $7.37-3/4 and December wheat was down 9 at $8.63-3/4.
Wheat ended down 1 percent for the week, corn was down 3 percent and soybeans ended the week up 1.7 percent.
Corn drew little buying interest and pressure remained on corn and also on soybeans because of lingering bearishness from the release on Thursday of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) weekly export sales report.
The worst U.S. drought in half a century drove prices to historic highs this summer and there are signs demand is waning as end-users back away from the market due to poor profits.
The USDA said corn sales totaled 142,400 tonnes, below estimates for 150,000 to 250,000. Soybean sales were also lower than expected at 522,200, versus estimates of 650,000 to 850,000 tonnes.
"U.S. soybean exports were pretty low and you are looking at a big rebound in South American supplies," said Brett Cooper, a senior markets manager at INTL FCStone Australia.
The market expects a bumper South American soybean crop with improving weather prospects for November seedings.
Improved crop weather seen early on Friday in Argentina and Brazil should boost plantings and emergence of corn and soybeans, said Don Keeney, meteorologist for MDA EarthSat Weather.
"The six- to 10-day (forecast) is for drier weather in central Argentina so all of Argentina will catch a break," he said.
Excessive wet weather has been slowing fieldwork in Argentina, and dry weather has been an issue in portions of Brazil. Now, it appears Brazil may receive some timely rains.
"The six- to 10-day is wetter for central and northern Brazil where rain is needed so this will certainly improve planting prospects," Keeney said.
FCPO- SINGAPORE, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures rose to a near 1-month high on Thursday on encouraging export data that showed firm demand and some short-covering ahead of a holiday weekend in parts of Asia.
Cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services reported on Thursday an 11 percent jump in Malaysia's Oct. 1-25 palm exports from a month ago. Another cargo surveyor, Societe Generale de Surveillance, reported a 9 percent improvement for the same period.
Prices posted a 4.1 percent gain for the week although some investors were still cautious, as after a two-day meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve there was no announcement of further stimulus that could boost global economic growth and commodity demand.
"At the moment, there's no cue that crude palm oil can take on the macroeconomic front. On the vegetable oils front, rising exports is something that is encouraging but that's not going to set the price trend," said Ker Chung Yang, investment analyst with Phillip Futures in Singapore.
"For the upcoming two weeks, the market will still be directionless. We have U.S. elections and MPOB (Malaysian Palm Oil Board) stocks data in early November, from now until then there's still some time and there's no main theme that palm oil can take its cue from," he added.
The benchmark January contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose 1 percent to close at 2,603 ringgit ($857) per tonne. Earlier, prices rose as high as 2,615 ringgit, a level last seen on Sept. 28.
Total traded volumes surged to 36,498 lots of 25 tonnes each, compared with the usual 25,000 lots.
Malaysian financial markets will be closed on Friday for the Eid al-Adha holiday.
Palm oil prices have recovered from the near 3-year low of 2,255 ringgit they touched this month, but Malaysia's Affin Investment Bank warned in a research note that high stocks, demand risks and vulnerable sentiment could limit further price rises.
In a bullish sign for palm oil, Brent crude oil rose above $108 per barrel on Thursday, consolidating after seven days of falls as better-than-expected data suggested the world economy was recovering, but analysts said the overall outlook for oil prices was bearish.
In other vegetable oil markets, U.S. soyoil for December delivery edged up 0.4 percent in late Asian trade. The most-active May 2013 soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange closed 0.4 percent lower.
REGIONAL EQUITY- BANGKOK, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Thai stocks hit one-month low on Friday, posting their biggest weekly loss since July, as looming legal hurdles on 3G auction triggered selling in telecom shares while Vietnamese stocks rebounded after two sessions of losses.
Thailand's main SET index <.SETI> ended down 1.2 percent at 1,281.81, the lowest close since Sept. 26, falling almost 2 percent on the week, to become Southeast Asia's worst performer.
Leading decliners, Advanced Info Service , the biggest telecom firm, dropped 2.5 percent as newspapers reported an investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Commission loomed over last month's auction of third-generation (3G) telecom operating licences.
The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange's VN Index <.VNI> gained 0.5 percent after a combined 1.97 percent fall over the past two sessions. It is down 1.6 percent on the week.
Stock markets in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines were closed on Friday. Malaysia <.KLSE> climbed to an all-time closing high on Thursday, up 0.33 percent on the week, outperforming its regional peers.
