Trader's Highlight

DJI - NEW YORK, March 10 - U.S. stocks posted their best day in four months on Tuesday after Citigroup said it was profitable in the first two months of 2009.

Major indexes jumped off 12-year lows in heavy trading after a key lawmaker said he expected the reinstatement of a rule that makes it harder to bet that a stock will fall.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 379.44 points, or 5.80 percent, to 6,926.49. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index climbed 43.07 points, or 6.37 percent, to 719.60. The Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 89.64 points, or 7.07 percent, to 1,358.28.

NYMEX - NEW YORK, March 10 - U.S. crude futures were lower in post-settlement trading on Tuesday after inventory data from the industry group American Petroleum Institute showed domestic crude stocks fell last week, but gasoline supplies rose, countering forecasts in a Reuters poll.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange at 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT), April crude was down $1.49, or 3.17 percent, at $45.58 a barrel. It earlier settled down $1.36, or 2.89 percent, at $45.71, trading from $45.33 to $48.32.

CBOT - SOYBEANS - March up 8 cents at $8.89 a bushel. Strength in equities rally soybeans in addition to firm cash markets.

CBOT - SOYOIL - March up 0.21 cent at 30.72 cents per lb. Spillover support from gains in soy and crude oil.

FCPO - JAKARTA, March 10 - Malaysian crude palm oil rose 2.8 percent to their highest close in three weeks on Tuesday, on the back of strong exports and higher soybean prices, although some late selling took prices off their best, traders said.

The benchmark May contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange climbed 55 ringgit, or 2.8 percent, to 1,995 ringgit ($541) per tonne, coming off an intra-day high of 2,010 ringgit.

REGINOAL EQUITIES - BANGKOK, March 10 - Singapore shares gained nearly 2 percent on Tuesday as beaten bank shares recovered some of their recent losses, while other Southeast Asian markets were mixed, reflecting concern over the global financial crisis.

Singapore's Straits Times Index closed up 1.98 percent, recouping part of a 5.3 percent loss in the past three sessions, with Southeast Asia's biggest bank, DBS Group, which fell to a 10-year low on Monday, up 4.7 percent.

Thai stocks climbed 1.5 percent, Indonesia was up 1.1 percent and Vietnam shares rose for a second day, adding 1.6 percent.

However, Malaysia ended 0.35 percent lower and the Philippine index fell for a third day, down 0.92 percent at its lowest since March 4.