Trader's Highlight

DJI - NEW YORK, May 18 - U.S. stocks rallied on Monday as better-than-expected results from the No. 2 U.S. home improvement retailer, Lowe's Cos Inc, helped spark
broad-based buying on hopes the recession is easing and consumer spending is stabilizing.

Investors' optimism extended to sectors closely aligned with economic growth, including homebuilders, banks, energy companies and retailers. Positive broker comments on Bank of America Corp, up nearly 10 percent at $11.73, boosted financial shares, while rising oil prices improved the outlook for energy names.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 235.44 points, or 2.85 percent, to 8,504.08. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 26.83 points, or 3.04 percent, to
909.71. The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 52.22 points, or 3.11 percent, to 1,732.36.

NYMEX - NEW YORK, May 18 - U.S. crude oil futures settled almost 5 percent percent higher on Monday on supply jitters after unrest in Nigeria flared up and a fire reduced production at a large Sunoco refinery in Pennsylvania.

On Wall Street, hopes of economic recovery re-emerged and the sentiment spilled over to the oil markets.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, June crude settled up $2.69, or 4.77 percent, at $59.03 a barrel, the highest settlement since $59.33 on Nov. 11. It traded from
$56.12 to $59.33. Crude hit a six-month intraday high $60.08 on May 12.

CBOT - SOYBEANS - July up 16 cents to $11.46-1/2 per bushel. Turns up as stock market and crude oil rallied and following news China bought more soy from the United States. Tight soy stocks supportive in addition to support from higher stock market and gains in crude oil.

CBOT - SOYOIL - July up 0.26 cent per lb at 38.16 cents per lb. Following soybeans with soyoil futures also boosted by higher crude oil.

FCPO - JAKARTA, May 18 - Malaysian palm futures slipped for a third straight day to a two-week closing low on Monday, extending a drop from a nine-month peak reached last week amid rival soy prices and stock markets, traders said.

A late rebound in some Asian stock markets helped palm to recoup some losses but the recovery was short-lived as investors were still uncertain about the price direction in the absence of any bullish factors.

The benchmark August contract dropped 42 ringgit, or 1.6 percent, at 2,570 ringgit ($723.54) per tonne, the lowest since April 29, coming off an intraday low of 2,513 ringgit. Overall volume was more than double the usual at 24,799 lots of 25 tonnes each.

REGIONAL EQUITIES - BANGKOK, May 18 (Reuters) - Singapore shares rose more than 1
percent on Monday, staging a late rebound like other major Southeast Asian markets, with Singapore Telecommunications, Thailand's Esso and Indonesia's Bank Rakyat leading the way.

Singapore's Straits Time index closed up 1.6 percent, Thailand's SET index gained 1.2 percent and Indonesia's index jumped 3 percent.

Malaysia's benchmark inched down 0.2 percent but that was an improvement on the 1.4 percent loss earlier in the day.