Palm | Kelapa Sawit

DJI-NEW YORK, Dec 15 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks suffered a third straight late-day sell-off on Wednesday, suggesting it may be difficult to chalk further gains as the year comes to a close.

After hitting two-year highs this week, a sustained rise in Treasury yields has sparked worry that rising borrowing costs could stifle the recovery. Banks, heavily dependent on loan demand, faded and ended lower for a third straight day. The sense among investors is that the market, after rising almost 11 percent so far in 2010, has run its course for the year.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> slipped 19.07 points, or 0.17 percent, to 11,457.47. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> shed 6.36 points, or 0.51 percent, to 1,235.23. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> dropped 10.50 points, or 0.40 percent, to close at 2,617.22.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, Dec 15 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures prices rose on Wednesday, lifted by government data showing the biggest weekly drop in U.S. crude inventories in eight years, much more than the drop expected by analysts.

Supportive U.S. industrial activity data also helped bolster oil prices after they earlier had been affected by U.S. euro-zone debt worries following a warning on Spain's credit rating. The stronger dollar on the heels of that warning helped limit oil's gains.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, January crude rose 34 cents, or 0.39 percent, to settle at $88.62 a barrel, having traded from $86.83 to $89.09.

CBOT-CHICAGO, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade grain and soy complex closing trends on Wednesday.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - January up 1/2 cent at $12.96-1/2 per bushel. Good export demand boosts prices early but market gives up most of its gains as dollar firms throughout the trading day.

CBOT-SOYOIL - January down 0.89 cent at 54.20 cents per lb. Losing ground to soymeal as oil/meal spreads unwind.

FCPO-KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures retreated from near three-year highs on Wednesday, sapped by weaker overseas demand and crude oil prices, but losses were capped by tight supply concerns.

Benchmark February crude palm oil futures fell 0.8 percent to 3,669 ringgit ($1,172.767)per tonne, after touching a 33-month high of 3,766 ringgit the previous day. Overall traded volume more than doubled to 20,825 lots of 25 tonnes each.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-COLOMBO, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Indonesia's stock market fell to a two-week low on Wednesday, led by banks, and most other Southeast Asian markets were lower after Federal Reserve comments that highlighted the weakness of the U.S. recovery.

Indonesia <.JKSE>, the region's best performer with a 44 percent rise this year, fell 0.9 percent to its lowest close since Dec. 1.

Indonesia is trading at 14.9 times this year's projected earnings, the highest in the region, compared to all-Asia's 13.3. Thailand is trading at 12.5, lower than the 13.9 in Malaysia, 13.8 in Singapore and 13.4 in the Philippines, Thomson Reuters
StarMine data shows.

Most other stock markets in the region closed down after the Fed said the U.S. economic recovery was still too weak to bring down unemployment. The Philippines <.PSI> fell 1.4 percent to a two-week low, Singapore <.FTSTI> ended 0.9 percent weaker at its lowest close since Nov. 30, Thailand <.SETI> lost 0.2 percent and Malaysia <.KLSE> edged down 0.1 percent. All these markets saw light volume compared to their 90-day average.