DJI-NEW YORK, Sept 7 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were little changed on Friday as investors weighed the chances that a weaker-than-expected jobs report would spur the Federal Reserve to launch another round of economic stimulus.
The report came a day after the S&P closed at its highest level since January 2008 - months before the collapse of Lehman Brothers - and the Nasdaq hit a 12-year high.
Nonfarm payrolls increased only 96,000 last month, the Labor Department said on Friday. While the unemployment rate dropped to 8.1 percent from 8.3 percent in July, it was largely due to Americans giving up the search for work.
The weak figures potentially set the stage for the Fed, which meets next week, to pump additional money into the sluggish economy. The job numbers also dealt a blow to President Barack Obama as he seeks re-election in November.
"The real question is what does the Fed do with this report?" said Steve Blitz, chief economist at ITG Investment Research, adding that the report may not be enough for the Fed to introduce more stimulus.
"As for the drop in the labor force and labor participation rate, it is troubling for the Fed, no question, but some part of that number relates to the retirement of the baby boomers," he said.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was up 3.95 points, or 0.03 percent, to 13,295.95. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX was up 2.84 points, or 0.20 percent, to 1,434.96. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC dropped 3.07 points, or 0.10 percent, to 3,132.74.
Shares of Pandora Media Inc P.N fell 18 percent to $10.34 following media reports that Apple Inc AAPL.O was in talks to license music for a radio service like the one Pandora operates.
The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that Apple wants to license music for a custom-radio service that would work on its hardware, such as the iPhone, iPads and Mac computers, in a bid to expand its dominance in online music. Apple's iTunes is the largest music retailer.
Intel Corp INTC.O cut its third-quarter revenue estimate and withdrew its full-year forecast, saying demand for its chips declined as customers reduced inventory and businesses bought fewer personal computers. The revenue warning sent shares of the world's largest chipmaker down more than 3 percent to near $24.
NYMEX- NEW YORK, Sept 7 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures rose on Friday in volatile trading after a disappointing U.S. August jobs report weakened the dollar and bolstered expectations for stimulus from the U.S. Federal Reserve, even while denting the outlook for petroleum demand.
CBOT- Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade fell for a third day on Friday on profit-taking after the front contract Sc1 surged to an all-time high near $18 a bushel early in the week, traders said.
* Benchmark November soybeans SX2 ended the week down 1.1 percent, retreating after setting a life-of-contract high at $17.89 on Tuesday.
• Market pressure stemmed from some private forecasts, notably INTL FC Stone on Wednesday, that called for a larger U.S. soybean crop than USDA projected in August.
• However, the average U.S. 2012 soybean production estimate among 20 analysts surveyed by Reuters ahead of USDA's Sept. 12 report was 2.657 billion bushels, below USDA's August forecast of 2.692 billion.
• Informa Economics lowered its U.S. soy production forecast to 2.639 billion bushels, from 2.791 billion previously, and cut its projection for the U.S. soybean yield to 35.4 bushels per acre, from 37.2 previously.
• USDA reported export sales of U.S. soybeans in the latest week at 525,800 tonnes (old and new crop years combined), below trade expectations for 700,000 to 900,000 tonnes.
• USDA reported weekly export sales of U.S. soymeal at 111,600 tonnes and soyoil sales at 3,700 tonnes, both below trade expectations.
• Canadian stocks of canola fell to 788,000 tonnes by July 31, an eight-year low, and down from 2.2 million tonnes a year ago, Statistics Canada said.
• CBOT reported no deliveries against September futures of soybeans, soymeal or soyoil.
FCPO- SINGAPORE, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures fell on Friday, posting their worst weekly performance since late July, with traders made cautious by the prospect that data next week could show rising inventories in the Southeast Asian country.
Improving crop prospects in parts of the U.S. grain belt weighed on soybeans, which in turn hurt palm oil futures, down more than 3 percent this week, marking its second straight weekly loss. GRA/
"Lately palm oil has been rangebound and immediate support is at 2,900 ringgit," said a trader with a global commodity house in Singapore. "Now everyone's looking for demand, only that can confirm the next firm direction for palm."
The benchmark November contract FCPOc3 on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed 0.7 percent lower at 2,927 ringgit ($941) per tonne, ending down for the fourth session in a row. The contract dropped to 2,913 ringgit on Thursday, its lowest level since Aug. 16.
Total traded volume stood at 44,575 lots of 25 tonnes each, much higher than the usual 25,000 lots.
Technicals remained weak as Reuters analyst Wang Tao said that palm oil looked likely to drop to 2,867 ringgit per tonne based on a wave analysis.
Market players are focusing on a slew of data on Monday including the Malaysian Palm Oil Board's figures on August stocks, which could hit a 9-month peak as high production offsets demand growth.
Record southeast Asian palm oil stocks may weigh on prices, leading industry analyst Dorab Mistry said this week.
Cargo surveyors Intertek Testing Services and Societe Generale de Surveillance also report Sept. 1-10 exports numbers on Monday after a strong showing in August. PALM/ITS PALM/SGS
Weather concerns have eased a little as a weak El Nino predicted by the U.S. government forecaster provided relief to Southeast Asian planters.
In a bullish signal for palm oil, crude rose on Friday ahead of a U.S. jobs report which could strengthen the case for more economic stimulus in the world's biggest oil consumer. O/R
In other vegetable oil markets, U.S. soyoil for December delivery BOZ2 fell 0.6 percent and the most active January 2013 soyoil contract DBYF3 on the Dalian Commodity Exchange had lost 0.5 percent by 1006 GMT.
REGIONAL EQUITY- BANGKOK, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets rose on Friday, taking their cues from strong overseas markets after the European Central Bank's latest bond-buying plan to help troubled countries in the region revived appetite for risk.
Jakarta's Composite Index .JKSE gained 1 percent to the highest close in almost two weeks. It posted a 2.1 percent gain for the week, its best in two months and the region's best performer for the week.
Malaysia's benchmark index .KLSE recovered from the day's lows to end up 0.4 percent but finished the week down 1.3 percent, its worst weekly performance in over 3 months.
