DJI- NEW YORK, May 25 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks and the euro slipped o n F riday as Spain's deteriorating finances and a possible Greek exit from the euro overshadowed an upbeat report on U.S. consumer confidence.
Oil prices edged higher due to a lack of progress in talks with Iran over its disputed nuclear program and the rise in U.S. consumer confidence.
European equities rose for a second straight day, but gains were driven by defensive plays like utilities and drugmakers. A tough economic outlook in Europe dampened investors' appetite for riskier assets.
After notching some gains earlier in the day, U.S. equities fell as the afternoon progressed ahead of the 3-day Memorial Day holiday weekend, as uncertainty continued to swirl over Europe.
"The market is drifting and cautious ahead of the holiday. There's no consistency, though we do seem to be digging in after some bad weeks," said Donald Selkin, chief market strategist at National Securities in New York, which has about $3 billion in assets under management. "Still, we have the overhang of Europe and just have to hope things don't get worse over there."
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> closed down 74.92 points, or 0.60 percent, at 12,454.83. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> fell 2.86 points, or 0.22 percent, to 1,317.82. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> lost 1.85 points, or 0.07 percent, at 2,837.53.
The euro plumbed a 22-month low against the U.S. dollar after the president of Catalonia, Spain's wealthiest autonomous region, said it is running out of options for refinancing more than 13 billion euros in debt that comes due this year. [ID:nL5E8GP73Z]
Catalonia's troubles came as Spain's Bankia SA was set to ask the state for a bailout valued at more than 15 billion euros ($19 billion), marking another rise in the cost of rescuing the country's fourth-biggest bank. [ID:nL5E8GP3ZF]
"The Catalonia news was a big deal because it implies that the Spanish government may have to take on more debt, and it cannot afford to do so," said Richard Franulovich, senior currency strategist at Westpac Securities in New York.
NYMEX- NEW YORK, May 25 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures rose a second day in a row on Friday as uncertainty about Iran's talks with world powers continued to stir supply-disruption worries and data showed a rise in U.S. consumer confidence.
Europe's economic problems signaled weaker prospects for oil demand, capping the gain in prices.
For the week, front-month crude futures fell slightly, extending losses for the fourth straight week, posting the biggest four week drop for since the period to Aug. 19, 2011.
Market focus on Iran remained after this week's talks between Tehran and world powers did not result in any agreement, with negotiations continuing next month at another meeting in Moscow. That has kept investors worried about a possible new conflict in the Middle East and disruption of supplies from Iran.
The U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency have found uranium particles refined to a higher-than-expected level than what Iran has disclosed, raising further concerns among oil investors. This has led to short-coverings ahead of the three-day Memorial Day holiday in the United States. [ID:nV9E8DF01E]
* On the New York Mercantile Exchange, July crude settled at $90.86 a barrel, up 20 cents, after trading between $90.20 to $91.32, an "inside day," in which the day's high and low are within the previous day's trading range.
* For the week, front-month crude fell 62 cents, or 0.68 percent, dropping for a fourth straight week, during which losses hit $14.07, or 13.4 percent, the biggest four-week drop since the period to Aug. 19, 2011.
CBOT SOYBEAN-Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade ended higher for a second day on short-covering and worries about stressful heat in the U.S. Midwest crop belt during a three-day weekend, traders said.
* A Commodity Weather Group forecaster said rains this weekend will favor the northwestern Midwest, while the central and southern Midwest and Delta will see dry weather continue. Temperatures in those areas may reach the mid 90s to near 100 degrees Fahrenheit this weekend.
* Yet soybeans unofficially ended the week down 1.6 percent on continuous price charts, the third weekly drop out of the last four, as funds reduced a record-large net long position in CBOT soybeans amid worries about the global economy.
* CBOT June options expired at 1:15 p.m. CDT (1815 GMT), the first expiration under the newly expanded 21-hour trading cycle that began this week. [ID:nL1E8GP98Y]
* CME Group said it will change the methodology for determining end-of-day settlement prices for its grain and oilseed futures starting June 25, pending U.S. regulatory approval. The new settlements will incorporate trade from screens as well as the pit. [ID:nL1E8GP5Y9]
* U.S. markets will be closed on Monday for the U.S. Memorial Day holiday. Electronic trade in CBOT grains will resume Monday at 7 p.m. CDT (0000 GMT).
* China's commerce ministry raised its estimate for the country's May soy imports to a record 7.22 million tonnes, from a previous projection of 5.63 million. [ID:nL4E8GP11N]
* Taiwan purchased 115,000 tonnes of soybeans from Brazil in a tender for 120,000 tonnes which closed on Friday, European traders said. [ID:nL5E8GP2M4]
* Temperatures dipped slightly below freezing on parts of the Canadian Prairies overnight, with similar conditions expected Friday night, but damage to newly emerged crops looked to be minor, an agricultural meteorologist said. [ID:nL1E8GP34N]
FCPO- SINGAPORE, May 25 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures edged up on Friday on rising exports ahead of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan in July, although investors were still cautious on lingering fear over the euro zone debt crisis.
Concern about global growth and a failure by European policymakers to make any significant breakthroughs in resolving the debt crisis have weighed on palm oil this week, which hit its lowest in 2012 on Wednesday. [MKTS/GLOB]
But firm demand from India and Pakistan for Ramadan, where fasting in the day is followed by feasting in the evening, lifted palm futures to erase losses and post a 1.1 percent gain this week.
"The market is consolidating after the excellent export numbers on festival buying and most of the negative news has already been priced in," said a trader with a commodities brokerage in Malaysia.
"The market is anticipating a pull-back in the 3,090-3,130 ringgit range in the near term."
The benchmark August palm oil futures on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 2 percent to close at 3,130 ringgit ($993) per tonne. Prices touched 2,993 ringgit on Wednesday, the lowest in 2012.
Traded volumes stood at 35,239 lots of 25 tonnes each, higher than the usual 25,000 lots.
Palm oil will revisit a low of 2,993 ringgit as a downtrend from 3,514 ringgit has not ended, said Reuters market analyst Wang Tao based on technical analysis. [ID:nL4E8GP117]
Cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services reported a 10.5 percent jump in Malaysian palm oil exports for May 1-25 to 1,146,406 tonnes, compared with just slightly over a million tonnes a month ago. [PALM/ITS]
Another cargo surveyor, Societe Generale de Surveillance, also reported higher exports for the first 25 days of the month. [PALM/SGS]
On the supply side, traders are watching dry U.S weather that could hurt the soybean crop and the possibility of a return of the El Nino weather pattern that could curb palm oil output in Southeast Asia.
REGIONAL EQUITY- May 25 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian markets closed a touch higher on Friday but volumes were thin as an uncertain global economic outlook and debt woes in the euro zone weighed on investors.
Thailand <.SETI> rose 0.6 percent, the Philippines <.PSI> added 0.4 percent, Malaysia <.KLSE> edged up 0.2 percent despite a $29.72 million foreign outflow, and Vietnam <.VNI>, the region's smallest bourse, gained 2.5 percent.
Indonesia <.JKSE> however was 2.1 percent lower with a foreign outflow of $104.7 million led by financials.
The country's sixth biggest lender PT Bank Danamon closed 6.3 percent down on a possible failure of a $7.3 billion takeover bid by Singapore's DBS due to new ownership restrictions being planned by the central. [ID:nL1E8GP1WP]
Singapore <.FTSTI> also fell 0.2 percent, extending the losses for a third straight session.
