Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, Jan 6 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks gained on Tuesday on the increased likelihood of a government stimulus package after the release of minutes from the last Federal Reserve policy meeting painted a dismal picture of the U.S economy.

Investors bet technology stocks would benefit from President-elect Barack Obama's proposed economic plan that would include the largest U.S. infrastructure investment since the 1950s.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was up 62.21 points, or 0.69 percent, to 9,015.10. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> gained 7.25 points, or 0.78 percent, to 934.70. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> added 24.35 points, or 1.50
percent, to 1,652.38.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, Jan 6 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures ended lower on Tuesday, snapping a three-day winning streak, as traders booked profits after prices broke above $50 early.

Traders squared books ahead of Wednesday's U.S. government inventory data that's forecast to show crude and refined product inventories rose last week.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, February crude settled down 23 cents, or 0.47 percent, at $48.58 per barrel, trading from $47.60 to $50.47, the highest since $54.62 was struck Dec. 1.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - January up 30-1/2 cents at $10.14-1/4 a bushel, March up 29 cents at $10.16 a bushel. Dry weather in key crop areas in South America, technical fund buying, and Chinese demand supporting soybean futures.

CBOT-SOYOIL - January up 2.15 cents at 37.05 cents a pound, March up 2.14 cents at 37.31 cents a pound. Following rally in soybeans amid concerns about South American weather. Soyoil trading at 2-month high.

FCPO-JAKARTA, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm futures extended a recent rally, climbing nearly 8 percent to finish at a three-month high on Tuesday, on stronger crude oil prices and short-covering, traders said.

The benchmark March palm oil contract on the Bursa Malaysia's Derivatives Exchange rose 143 ringgit, or 7.78 percent, to 1,980 ringgit ($565) per tonne, the highest closing level since Oct. 6.

Other traded contracts rose between 120 ringgit and 140 ringgit. Overall volume was 16,707 lots of 25 tonnes each.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stocks generally drifted lower on Tuesday despite hopes for economic recovery later in 2009, with Singapore's CapitaLand, Malaysia's IOI Corp and Thailand's PTT leading the decliners.

Singapore's stock index <.FTSTI> fell 0.58 percent after a 5.2 percent rise to a two-month high on Monday, Malaysia bucked the trend, edging up 0.17 percent after
falling as much as 1.2 percent in early trade.