Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, April 17 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Friday, with the Dow scoring its biggest six-week gain since July 1938, helped by a reassuring report on the mood of consumers and stabilization in General Electric and Citigroup's quarterly results.

GE and Citigroup both posted better-than-expected results, lifting the broader market, and bank stocks rallied as investors bet other financial companies could follow up with more news showing the sector is on the mend.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> rose 5.90 points, or 0.07 percent, to 8,131.33. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> climbed 4.30 points, or 0.50 percent, to 869.60. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> added 2.63 points, or 0.16
percent, to 1,673.07.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, April 17 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures ended higher on Friday, backed by Wall Street's rise on economic optimism, but gains were pared sharply from the day's highs amid bloated oil inventories and poor demand.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, May crude ended up 35 cents, or 0.7 percent, at $50.33 a barrel, trading from $49.41 to $51.37. From the previous week, it fell $1.91, or 3.66 percent.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - May down 7-1/2 cents per bushel at $10.51 per bushel.

Turned lower on profit taking after soaring to fresh six-month high of $10.73, surpassing 200-day moving average of $10.71-1/4.

Exporters sell 275,000 tonnes U.S. soybeans to unknown, including 55,000 tonnes for 2008/09 - USDA.

Aggressive buying of U.S. and Brazilian soybeans this week, 10-15 cargoes, by China and reports of low soybean yields in the Argentine harvest fueled this week's soy rally.

CBOT-SOYOIL - May up 0.02 cent per lb at 36.77 cents per lb. Support from rally in Asian trade for soyoil and palm oil.

FCPO-KUALA LUMPUR, April 17 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm futures jumped 3.3 percent on Friday as traders chased tight supplies, renewing a rally that saw palm widen its premium to soyoil.

The benchmark July contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange settled up 77 ringgit to 2,435 ringgit ($673.8) per tonne.

Other traded months rose between 20 and 77 ringgit while Sept 2010 contract fell 25 ringgit <0#KPO:>. Overall volume stood at 17,340 lots of 25 tonnes each.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-Other major Southeast Asian stock markets ended with small
gains, with Asian stocks in general rising after better-than-expected results from JPMorgan.

Singapore <.FTSTI> rose 0.3 percent, with top lender DBS Group up 0.5 percent and telecom firm SingTel up 0.8 percent. Malaysia <.KLSE> gained 0.4 percent, with biggest power firm Tenaga Nasional up 2.9 percent. Indonesia <.JKSE> extended its gains for a fifth day, ending
up 0.6 percent,