Palm | Kelapa Sawit

DJI-NEW YORK, Aug 13 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks closed out their worst week in six with a whimper on Friday, slumping toward the close as economic data gave little reason to reverse a string of sell-offs.

In a thinly traded session, indexes posted their fourth day of losses though selling pressure was limited in the Dow by strength in Bank of America Corp .

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> dropped 16.80 points, or 0.16 percent, to 10,303.15. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> dropped 4.36 points, or 0.40 percent, to 1,079.25. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> dropped 16.79 points, or 0.77 percent, to 2,173.48.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, Aug 13 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures prices ended lower for a fourth day in a row on Friday and finished the week with the biggest percentage loss in six weeks, as fears grew that the slowing economic recovery would further erode oil demand.

U.S. retail sales rebounded in July but had signs of lingering economic softness while another indicator, consumer sentiment, appears to have stabilized so far this month, but consumers appeared still nervous over the near term, they said.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, September crude settled down 35 cents, or 0.46 percent, at $75.39 a barrel. For the week, prices fell $5.31, or 6.6 percent, the worst week for front-month crude since the week to July 2, when prices finished $6.72 lower, or 8.52 percent.

CBOT-CHICAGO, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade grain and soy complex close on Friday.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - August expired down 5 cents per bushel at $10.52. September up 17-1/2 at $10.43-1/2, new-crop November up 15-1/2 cents at $10.44. Soybean futures rallied due to good demand from top buyer China and forecasts for heat that could stress the U.S. crop during its key pod filling phase.

CBOT-SOYOIL - August expired up 0.71 cent per lb at 41.80. September up 1.31cents at 42.52 cents per lb. Spillover strength from soybean rally supportive.

FCPO-KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures hit a 15-month high on renewed concerns about weather following a pessimistic grain production report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The U.S. government made a bigger-than-expected cut in its forecast for world wheat production, pushing U.S. wheat futures to close more than 2 percent higher on Thursday. Soybean and corn also followed wheat higher.

The benchmark October crude palm oil contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange climbed 45 ringgit, or 1.7 percent, to 2,718 ringgit ($857.4) a tonne, after rising as high as 2,737 ringgit -- a level unseen since May 15 last year. Overall volume more than doubled to 23,782 lots of 25 tonnes each.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-COLOMBO, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets rose on Friday as investors looked for bargains after earlier losses that were driven by concern over the global economic recovery.

Indonesia <.JKSE> gained 0.9 percent, Singapore <.FTSTI> rose 0.4 percent after hitting a three-week low on Thursday, Malaysia <.JKSE> closed 0.6 percent firmer, and Vietnam <.VNI> added 1 percent.

Singapore shares rose after falling for three straight sessions with Genting Singapore surging over 14 percent after the casino operator posted strong second-quarter earnings.

Shares in Singapore's banks also recovered marginally with 0.3 percent rise in top lender DBS Group , a 0.1 percent gain in United Overseas Bank and a 0.4 percent rise in Oversea Chinese Banking Corp .

Bucking the trend, Wilmar , the world's biggest listed palm oil firm, fell 2.2 percent after posting a fall in earnings.

Malaysian shares rebounded with Genting Malaysia jumping 6.2 percent and Axiata Group gaining 2.8 percent.