Palm | Kelapa Sawit

DJI-NEW YORK, Dec 9 - World stocks were mixed overall on Tuesday as investors mulled whether recent gains have staying power given rising corporate layoffs and disappointing profit outlooks.

Risk aversion drove short term money market yields to zero in the United States, and government bond yields fell with investors nervous about the strains that year-end funding might impose on the global financial system.

The safe-haven U.S. dollar and Japanese yen rose as year-end book squaring continued to result in de-leveraging and repatriation flows.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 237.59 points, or 2.66 percent, to 8,696.59. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 21.01 points, or 2.31 percent, to 889.69. The Nasdaq Composite Index ended down 24.40 points, or 1.55 percent, at 1,547.34.

NYMEX-TOKYO, Dec 10 - U.S. crude futures edged up to stay above $42 a barrel on Wednesday, paring Tuesday's nearly 4 percent decline, ahead of U.S. government data expected to show a fall in U.S. distillate and gasoline inventories.

NYMEX crude for January delivery was trading up 46 cents at $42.53 a barrel in Globex electronic trading by 0004 GMT, after settling down $1.64 at $42.07 on Tuesday.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - January down 7-1/2 cents to $8.13 per bushel; March down 7-1/4 to $8.18-1/4.

Lower stock market and crude oil weighs. Also bearish was good South American crop weather and profit-taking after Monday's rally.

CBOT-SOYOIL - December up 0.06 cent per lb to 29.54 cents; March up 0.04 cent to 29.81 cents.

Gaining on meal amid wishy-washy crude oil market.

FCPO-KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 9 - Malaysian palm futures gained 3.7 percent on Tuesday on fears that production in the next two or three months will be hit by heavy rains and floods.

Slightly higher crude oil and steady vegetable oil markets in Asia following overnight rallies also lent some support to palm oil, which has tumbled more than 66 percent in the past 10 months, from a peak of 4,486 ringgit.

The benchmark February palm oil contract on Bursa Malaysia's Derivatives Exchange traded up 56 ringgit at 1,555 ringgit ($430) per tonne.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, Dec 9 - Thai shares surged to a three-week high on Tuesday as hopes of some easing in Thailand's political crisis and the prospect of a new government spurred buying of depressed blue chips such as energy firm PTT and miner Banpu. Stocks in Singapore and Indonesia jumped to their highest levels since mid-November after reopening following holidays.

The benchmark Thai stock index closed up 3.22 percent at a three-week high, in moderate turnover of about $606 million, ahead of a market holiday on Wednesday.

Singapore and Indonesia jumped to their highest levels since Nov. 17, with Singapore's main index up 5.75 percent and Indonesia's 5.3 percent higher.

But Malaysia drifted 0.37 percent lower after earlier rising 1.8 percent to a one-week high, with decliners led by Bumiputra-Commerce , which dropped 5.9 percent, and top lender Maybank , which fell 2.9 percent.