Trader's Highlight

DOW JONES-NEW YORK, Jan 6 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose in the first week of 2012, even though news that the U.S. jobless rate neared a three-year low did not whet interest in equities on Friday.

The U.S. market came into the new year revisiting familiar themes, with signs the U.S. economic recovery was gathering speed taking some of the focus off of lingering concerns about the euro zone's debt crisis.

The Dow rose 1.2 percent, the S&P gained 1.6 percent and the Nasdaq added 2.7 percent for the week, with most gains coming from cyclical sectors tied to growth.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, Jan 6 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures fell for a second straight day on Friday, as a stronger dollar and worries about Europe's economies trumped data showing strong U.S. jobs growth and lower unemployment.

Worries persisted over possible supply disruptions due to rising tensions between Iran and the West, limiting losses.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude for February delivery settled at $101.56 a barrel, dipping 25 cents, or 0.25 percent.

CBOT-SOYBEANS, Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade fell for a second day on Friday, tumbling late in the session on late-week technical selling as the U.S. dollar firmed, traders said.

The dollar rose to a near 16-month high against the euro on evidence that the U.S. economy is strengthening while Europe grapples with another recession. A stronger dollar tends to pressure dollar-denominated grains and oilseeds.

FCPO-SINGAPORE, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures gained on Friday as prospects of erratic weather hurting production overshadowed renewed worries about the euro zone debt crisis.

The focus is on dry weather in South America hurting soy yields and prospects of heavy Southeast Asian rains disrupting palm oil production, which is pushing palm oil prices up.

Benchmark March palm oil futures on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose 0.7 percent to close at 3,211 ringgit ($1,000) per tonne. The tropical oil ended the first week of the new year 1.1 percent higher. Traded volumes on Friday stood at 18,702 lots of 25 tonnes, compared to the usual 25,000 lots.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets retreated on Friday as investors became nervous ahead of U.S. job data later in the day but they ended the first week of the year with modest gains.

Non-farm payrolls due later on Friday are expected to show 150,000 jobs were added in December. If the figures come in as expected, near-term market sentiment could tip to positive.

Singapore's stock market <.FTSTI> ended flat but it posted a 2.6 percent rise for the first week of the year, leading others in the region. The Straits Times Index lost 17 percent last year, Southeast Asia's second-worst performance after Vietnam.

Indonesia <.JKSE> fell 0.9 percent on Friday, the Philippines <.PSI> was down 0.8 percent, and Thailand <.SETI> and Malaysia <.KLSE> ended flat. Vietnam <.VNI> fell for a fourth session, ending down 1.23 percent.

Indonesia's PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia Tbk was down 0.7 percent, after a gain of nearly 3 percent in the previous four sessions, while Malaysia's Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd eased 0.8 percent, erasing part of the 2.9 percent gain earlier in the week.