Palm | Kelapa Sawit

DJI-NEW YORK, Feb 23 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks dropped for a second straight session on Wednesday as Libya's violence sent oil prices up briefly to $100 a barrel and tech shares sank, adding credence to calls for a market correction.

Oil futures jumped to their highest since October 2008 amid worries about supply disruptions in Libya, a top oil producer. Late in the day, oil eased off the day's highs, helping stocks trim losses.

The day's drop follows a 2.1 percent decline in the S&P 500 on Wednesday, and the second straight session of above-average trading volume. However, since a modest correction is expected, investors at this point are taking the declines in stride.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> fell 107.01 points, or 0.88 percent, at 12,105.78. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> lost 8.04 points, or 0.61 percent, to 1,307.40. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> declined 33.43 points, or 1.21 percent, to 2,722.99.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, Feb 23 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures rose for a second day on Wednesday, touching $100 a barrel briefly and ending at the highest level since October 2008, as escalating violence in Libya disrupted its oil production.

Fears persisted that Libya's unrest could spread to other oil producers in the Middle East and North Africa, further raising oil's geopolitical risk premium, traders said.

The International Energy Agency will rely first of all on OPEC to meet any loss of Libyan oil and would save its emergency stockpiles as a last resort, its executive director said.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude for April delivery , the new front-month contract, settled at $98.10 a barrel, up $2.68, or 2.81 percent, the highest close since Oct. 1, 2008, when prices ended at $98.53. It traded from $95.14 to $100, the highest intraday price since Oct. 2, 2008, when prices hit $100.37.

CBOT-CHICAGO, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade grain and soy complex closing trends on Wednesday.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - March up 22 cents at $13.20 per bushel. Rallied on technical buying, including short-covering, after Tuesday's sell-off left the market oversold.

CBOT-SOYOIL - March up 1.03 cents at 55.02 cents per lb. Spillover support from soybeans and crude oil.

FCPO-KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Vegetable oil markets tumbled on Wednesday as spreading Libyan unrest spurred investors to flee agriculture assets to the safe haven plays, although traders said the sell-off was a knee-jerk reaction and prices will recover.

Protests have spread to oil-producing Libya and should lift crude oil and other commodity markets but investors are increasingly concerned economic growth in the Middle East will stall and complicate the global recovery.

In the morning session, Malaysian palm oil dived as much as 4.5 percent to a 2-month low before crawling back gains to close at 3,514 ringgit ($1,154.97) per tonne.

China's Dalian soyoil lost 3.7 percent. U.S. soyoil for March rose 0.8percent after tumbling the previous day when the sell-off in agriculture markets started.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Some Southeast Asian stock markets regained lost ground on Wednesday as investors bought oil-related shares after a jump in oil prices, although Singapore slumped further in heavy turnover.

Despite the better trend in places, the unrest in Libya continued to hang over stock markets, since it could further raise global oil prices and slow the recovery in the world economy.

Export-dependent emerging Southeast Asian economies, already plagued by inflationary pressures, would be vulnerable to slower global growth and the uncertainty is keeping some investors on the sidelines, dealers said.

Indonesia's main share index <.JKSE> rose 0.7 percent but Malaysia <.KLSE> ended down 0.2 percent after briefly climbing into positive territory. Both posted relatively weak volume at 0.9 times their 30 day average.

Turnover in the Thai and Singapore markets rose to 1.2 times and 2.5 times their 30-day average respectively. Airline companies extended losses, with Southeast Asia's biggest airline, Singapore Airlines , easing 0.9 percent, Malaysia's AirAsia sliding 2.4 percent and Philippine Cebu Air dropping 5.4 percent.