Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, July 13 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rallied more than 2 percent on Monday as bullish comments on financial sector performance from analyst Meredith Whitney lifted hopes that banks' quarterly results may be stronger than expected.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> rose 185.16 points, or 2.27 percent, to end at 8,331.68. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was up 21.92 points, or 2.49 percent, at 901.05. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was up 37.18 points, or 2.12 percent, at 1,793.21.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, July 13 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures ended slightly lower on Monday after seesawing as the market sought to consolidate after dropping below $60 last week for the first time since May.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, August crude fell 20 cents, or 0.33 percent, to settle at $59.69 a barrel, trading as high as $60.67. Monday's intraday low of $58.32 was the lowest since prices fell to $56.12 on May 18.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - July down 36-3/4 cents at $10.91-1/2 per bushel. August down 26-1/4 at $10.18-1/2.

Weighed down by good crop weather in the United States, lower crude oil, fund long-liquidation and unwinding of soy/corn spreads.

CBOT-SOYOIL - July up 0.57 cent at 33.27 cents per lb. Turns firm in rebound from oversold technicals.

FCPO-JAKARTA, July 13 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures dropped to their weakest closing in three and a half months on Monday, reversing early gains, as sentiment was dented by falling global stock markets, traders said.

The benchmark September contract on Bursa Malaysia's Derivatives Exchange fell 20 ringgit, or 1.0 percent to 1,990 ringgit ($552.85) per tonne, the weakest level since March 30, after going as high as 2,035 ringgit. Volumes was 14,597 lots of 25 tonnes each.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, July 13 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets fell on Monday, with Singapore slipping close to a one-week low due to losses in big caps such as CapitaLand and SingTel, while the Thai index hit its lowest in almost seven weeks.

Singapore's benchmark index <.FTSTI> lost 1.8 percent, after falling early in the day by 2.1 percent to its lowest since July 8, with developer CapitaLand down 2.4 percent and Singapore Telecommunications down 1.3 percent.

Elsewhere, Malaysia's index <.KLSE> eased 0.4 percent, weighed down by Berjaya Sports Toto Bhd , which was off 7.6 percent, and Malayan Banking , down 0.9 percent. Jakarta <.JKSE> closed down 2.1 percent, with Bank Rakyat
slipping 4.4 percent and gas distribution firm
Perusahaan Gas Negara 2.9 percent lower.