Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, Oct 31 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks ended one of their worst months on record, but signs of further thawing in credit markets lifted battered shares on Friday.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> gained 144.32 points, or 1.57 percent, to 9,325.01. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> rose 14.66 points, or 1.54 percent, to 968.75. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> climbed 22.43 points, or 1.32 percent, to 1,720.95.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, Oct 31 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures rallied in the closing minutes of Friday's session and settled nearly 3 percent higher, on pre-weekend short-covering, after being down earlier on demand worries due to a weakening economy.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange December crude settled at $67.81 a barrel, up $1.85, or 2.8 percent, after trading from $63.12 to $68.60.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - November off 8-3/4 cents at $9.25-1/4 per bushel; January off 10 cents at $9.33. Rising dollar and continued recession worries drag soy to session lows.

CBOT-SOYOIL - December off 0.88 cent at 33.60 cents per lb. Strong dollar and a drop in soy weigh.

FCPO-JAKARTA, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm futures closed down nearly 3 percent on Friday after crude oil fell on weak U.S. third-quarter economic data that renewed demand worries, traders said.

News of stronger October palm oil exports estimated by two cargo surveyors failed to inspire the market, traders said.

The benchmark January contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange dropped 45 ringgit, or 2.88 percent, to 1,515 ringgit ($426) per tonne.

Regional Equities-SINGAPORE, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Southeast Asia stock markets closed mostly higher on Friday, led by Jakarta which gained more than 7 percent on a strong earnings report from its largest automobile distributor, PT Astra Internationl Tbk . Jakarta's main stock index <.JKSE> gained 7.06 percent, led by PT Astra whose stock jumped 19.9 percent after the firm report a 61 percent jump in nine-month net profit.

Elsewhere, Thai stocks <.SETI> rose 2.01 percent, Malaysian stocks <.KLSE> was up 1.18 percent, Vietnam stocks <.VNI> gained 3.11 percent and Philippines stocks <.PSI> was up 4.62 percent.