DJI - NEW YORK, Nov 16 (Reuters) - U.S. stock markets ended higher on Friday on hopes that politicians would find common ground to steer clear of the "fiscal cliff" that would hurt the U.S. economy, while escalating tensions in the Middle East boosted oil prices.
But shares on major markets still posted a second consecutive weekly loss as the collective worry about the U.S. government's fiscal problems and weak global economic growth weighed on sentiment.
Investors have been concerned that if no deal were reached to modify automatic spending cuts and tax hikes, the U.S. economy could slip into recession. The S&P 500 has dropped about 4 percent over the past two weeks, in part due to these worries.
NYMEX - NEW YORK, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Expiring U.S. December crude futures rose on Friday as the escalating conflict between Israel and Palestinians in Gaza reinforced concerns about supply in the Middle East and as a Gulf of Mexico energy platform fire also helped boost prices.
CBOT SOYBEAN - U.S. soybean futures dropped 1.3 percent to a five-month low after the world's top importer of the oilseed canceled deals to import some U.S. supplies, traders said.
* For the week, the benchmark Chicago Board of Trade January soybean futures contract dropped 4.7 percent, its third straight week of declines.
- During the past three weeks, soybean prices have shed 11.4 percent.
- Chinese importers canceled orders for about 600,000 tonnes of U.S. soybeans due to weak domestic demand and recent price declines, the China National Grain and Oils Information Center said.
- The U.S. Agriculture Department said on Friday morning that weekly export sales of soybeans were 585,200 tonnes, topping forecasts for 250,000 to 550,000 tonnes and up from 191,900 tonnes a week ago.
FCPO - SINGAPORE, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures slipped on Friday, despite posting a weekly gain of close to 5 percent, as traders booked profits from a large increase in the previous session, and slowing exports squeezed prices.
"The market came down a bit as there was some profit-taking," a trader with a foreign commodities brokerage in Malaysia said, adding that prices seemed to be trading in a broad range of 2,300 to 2,500 ringgit. "Exports were also down and that could be another reason."
Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for Nov. 1 to 15 fell 0.1 percent to 769,087 tonnes from 769,534 tonnes for the Oct. 1-15 period, cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services said on Friday.
That came as a disappointment after exports rose as much as 22 percent for the Nov. 1-10 period from a month ago, although some traders traced the slowdown to a slew of holidays this week.
Market players are also closely monitoring a French proposal of a fourfold tax increase on palm oil in food, which stirred opposition from foodmakers and industry groups in top producers Indonesia and Malaysia.
Regional Equties - Nov 15 (Reuters) - Thai stocks recovered from a seven-week low on Friday while other major Southeast Asian stock markets ended weaker-to-flat as global economic concerns led by the U.S. 'fiscal cliff' and the eurozone debt crisis weighed on the region's risky assets.
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