DJI- NEW YORK, Sept 10 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks slipped on Monday while the euro dipped below four-month highs before potential new stimulus from the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank.
Markets are awaiting the Fed's decision at the end of its two-day policy meeting on Thursday and, a day earlier, a German constitutional court ruling on whether Germany may contribute to the euro zone's rescue fund. The ruling is crucial to the ECB's plan to contain the borrowing costs of Spain and Italy.
"After some significant moves last week, Monday was more of a waiting game as the markets looked toward the news coming out of the Fed and the German constitutional court later this week," said Michael Cloherty, head of U.S. rates strategy at RBC Capital Markets.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI fell 52.35 points, or 0.39 percent, to 13,254.29. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX fell 8.84 points, or 0.61 percent, to 1,429.08. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC slid 32.40 points, or 1.03 percent, to 3,104.02.
NYMEX- NEW YORK, Sept 10 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures edged up on Monday in choppy trading as supportive expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will act to stimulate the economy countered pressure from weak Chinese data that raised concerns about demand for petroleum.
CBOT SOYBEAN- Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade fell for a fourth straight session on technical selling and profit-taking after last week's all-time highs, and on positioning ahead of monthly
U.S. crop data due Sept. 12, traders said.
* Most-active November soybeans SX2 neared a two-week low, dipping to $17.16, but held above the 20-day moving average near $17.06.
• Soymeal and soyoil futures also fell, with soymeal losing ground to soyoil as traders unwound meal/oil spreads.
• Weak Chinese economic data adds pressure. China imported 4.42 million tonnes of soybeans in August, the lowest monthly level in 6 months, as record-high prices and reduced global supplies cut demand in the world's top soy importer.
• The European Union will impose a limit on the use of crop-based biofuels over fears they are less climate-friendly than initially thought and compete with food production, draft EU legislation seen by Reuters showed.
• Traders expected USDA to report the U.S. soybean harvest at 3 percent complete in its weekly crop progress report later on Monday. It would be the USDA's first national soybean harvest figure of the season.
• USDA reported export inspections of U.S. soybeans in the latest week at 12.933 million bushels, below a range of trade estimates for 13 million to 17 million.
• CBOT reported no deliveries of soybeans or soymeal against September futures, while soyoil deliveries totaled 624 contracts.
• Weekly supplemental data from the U.S. CFTC late Friday showed non-commercial traders expanded their net long position in CBOT soybeans in the week ended Sept. 4.
FCPO- SINGAPORE, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures edged up on Monday, buoyed by rising exports, although gains were limited by high stock levels that have risen above 2 million tonnes in the No.2 producer.
The Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) reported a 5.8 percent increase in August palm oil stocks from a month earlier, putting pressure on palm oil futures. (Full Story)
But a report from cargo surveyor Societe Generale de Surveillance (SGS) showing exports rose as much as 30 percent drove the bulls back into the market and helped palm oil prices close higher, after four straight sessions of losses.
"The SGS numbers were better," said a palm oil trader based in Singapore. "But MPOB dimmed the mood a bit so the market was not up as much as we expected."
The benchmark November contract FCPOc3 on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange edged up 0.3 percent to close at 2,937 ringgit ($947) per tonne.
Total traded volume stood at 35,017 lots of 25 tonnes each, much higher than the usual 25,000 lots.
REGIONAL EQUITY- Sept 10 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets eased on Monday with Vietnam falling to a two-week low, as investors waited for direction from a U.S. Federal Reserve meeting and a German ruling on the euro zone's new bailout fund later this week.
Vietnam .VNI, the region's smallest bourse, fell 2.2 percent to its lowest close since Aug. 28 as investors dumped risky assets to switch to gold.
The Fed may decide on a third round of bond buying or quantitative easing (QE3) at its Sept. 12-13 meeting, while Europe faces another testing week, with Dutch voters going to the polls and Germany's constitutional court set to rule on new powers for the European Stability Mechanism, the euro zone's new bailout fund, both on Wednesday.
