Palm | Kelapa Sawit

DJI-NEW YORK, March 9 (Reuters) - A weak outlook from Texas Instruments weighed on the Nasdaq on Wednesday and pushed an index of chip makers below a key technical level in a worrisome sign for the market's six-month uptrend.

The PHLX semiconductor index <.SOX> fell 3 percent to close below its 50-day moving average, which represents medium-term momentum, for the first time since September.

Texas Instruments led the losers, after its earnings target disappointed Wall Street. Its shares fell 3.1 percent to $34.74.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> dipped 1.29 points, or 0.01 percent, to finish at 12,213.09. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> shed 1.80 points, or 0.14 percent, to end at 1,320.02. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> fell 14.05 points, or 0.51 percent, to close at 2,751.72.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, March 9 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures settled lower on Wednesday as a government report of rising crude stocks, especially at the key Cushing, Oklahoma, storage hub, pressured U.S. prices despite the intensifying conflict in Libya that helped lift Brent crude.

Total U.S. crude inventories rose 2.52 million barrels in the week to March 4, more than expected, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report. Stocks at Cushing hit a record high 40.26 million barrels, according to the report.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, April crude fell 64 cents, or 0.61 percent, to settle at $104.38 a barrel, having traded from $103.90 to $105.92.

CBOT-CHICAGO, March 9 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade soybean
futures dropped for the third straight day on Wednesday on harvesting of a likely bumper South American soybean crop and fund long-liquidation ahead of the release on Thursday of USDA's March supply/demand and crop production reports.

FCPO-KUALA LUMPUR, March 9 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil ended off five-week lows on Wednesday as traders rebalanced their positions ahead of a slew of industry data.

The market shifted its focus from bullish forecasts from a price outlook conference to Malaysian industry data due on Thursday as well as a U.S. Department of Agriculture report showing global demand and supply scenario for food commodities.

The Malaysian Palm Oil Board will issue February palm oil stocks, production and exports on Thursday. Cargo surveyors will issue March 1-10 export data on the same day.

The benchmark May palm oil contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange fell as much as 27 ringgit to 3,557 ringgit per tonne, a level not seen since Feb. 3, before settling nearly flat at 3,585 ringgit.

Traded volume stood at 13,566 lots at 25 tonnes versus the usual 15,000 lots as most market participants were at the Bursa Malaysia palm oil conference.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, March 9 (Reuters) - Some Southeast Asian bourses posted small gains on Wednesday but investors remained wary of turmoil in the Middle East and sought refuge in defensive stocks such as telecoms, selling energy shares as oil fell back.

Market volume picked up as the region's valuations helped lure buyers to selected sectors. Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia all saw turnover go above their 30-day average.

The main Thai index fell marginally on the day but broker CIMB raised its rating on Thailand to "overweight" from "neutral" and maintained Indonesia at "overweight". It put Singapore and Malaysia at "neutral".

Investors put money into telecom shares, pushing Singapore Telecommunications 1.3 percent higher and PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom) , Indonesia's biggest telecommunications firm, up 2.1 percent.