Trader's Highlight

DJI - NEW YORK, April 2 - U.S stocks rallied for a third day on Thursday as more data pointed to a stabilizing economy and changes to an accounting rule were seen as shoring up the volatile financial sector in the short term.

World leaders at the G20 summit on London also boosted markets when they announced an additional trillion dollars to support the International Monetary Fund and boost flagging trade.

The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 216.48 points, or 2.79 percent, to 7,978.08. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 23.30 points, or 2.87 percent, to 834.38. The Nasdaq Composite Index leaped 51.03 points, or 3.29 percent, to 1,602.63.

NYMEX - NEW YORK, April 2 - U.S. crude oil futures settled on Thursday with the biggest one-day percentage gain in three weeks as Wall Street rallied on optimism that steps agreed to by world leaders at the G20 meeting in London would restore global economic growth.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, May crude settled up $4.25, or 8.78 percent, at $52.64 a barrel, trading from $48.45 to $52.87. It was the biggest one-day percentage gain since crude ended up 11.1 percent on March 12.

CBOT - SOYBEANS - May up 25 cents at $9.77 per bushel.
Big gains for U.S. stock market, strong crude oil and weak dollar combining to boost soybean futures markets.

CBOT - SOYOIL - May up 1.60 cents per lb at 35.10 cents per lb.
Strong rally for crude oil and stock market dominating trade on Thursday in addition to short-covering.

FCPO - KUALA LUMPUR, April 2 - Asian vegetable oil markets gained on Thursday, bolstered by mounting expectations that a summit of G20 leaders would issue measures to stimulate growth, spurring food demand amid supply squeeze fears.

Malaysian crude palm oil futures jumped 5.1 percent to a fresh 6-month peak while U.S. soyoil for May delivery jumped 2.4 percent and Dalian Commodity Exchange soyoil futures edged higher.

The benchmark June contract on Bursa Malaysia's Derivatives Exchange rose as much as 105 ringgit to 2,175 Malaysian ringgit ($602.5) per tonne, a level unseen since Sept 29, 2008, before settling at 2,159 ringgit, up 4.3 percent.

REGIONAL EQUITIES - BANGKOK, April 2 - Southeast Asian stocks posted healthy gains on Thursday as investors snapped up blue chips like Singapore's CapitaLand, Malaysia's CIMB and Indonesia's Bank Rakyat as hopes for a U.S. economic recovery grew.

Singapore jumped 6 percent to close near a three-month high as investors piled into property shares following better-than-expected U.S. home sales data, which raised hopes the economic downturn there was moderating.

In Malaysia, the Kuala Lumpur composite index built on gains from Wednesday, adding 2.4 percent to close at its highest since Feb. 17, while the Indonesian benchmark index added 2.6 percent to end at its highest since Oct. 15.