Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, Aug 20 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose for a third straight session on Thursday with financial stocks leading gains after U.S. manufacturing data and a rebound in Chinese stocks reassured investors.

The positive manufacturing data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia offset the market's disappointment that weekly jobless claims increased for a second week.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> gained 70.89 points, or 0.76 percent, to end at 9,350.05. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> rose 10.91 points, or 1.09 percent, to finish at 1,007.37. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> climbed 19.98 points, or 1.01 percent, to close at 1,989.22.

On Friday, investors will listen to remarks from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, scheduled to speak to a gathering in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on the lessons learned from the financial crisis and efforts to aid the economic recovery.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, Aug 20 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures ended slightly higher amid choppy late trading on Thursday, with gains limited as traders closed out positions on the front-month, now-expired September crude contract.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, September crude expired and settled down 12 cents, or 0.17 percent, at $72.54 a barrel, trading from $71.65 to $72.88. The day's high is the highest since the June 30 peak of $73.38, which was the highest intraday front-month crude oil price since crude hit $75.69 on Oct. 21.

Nymex October crude settled down 92 cents, or 1.25 percent, at $72.91 a barrel, trading from $72.53 to $74.07.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - CBOT September up 2-1/4 cents per bushel at $9.99-1/4. November down 1 at $9.57.

Continued Chinese buying of U.S. soy lending support but good U.S. crop weather and outlooks for a record 2009 U.S. soy crop limiting advances.

CBOT-SOYOIL - CBOT September down 0.31 cent per lb at 35.80. Big supply of soyoil continues to act as an anchor on soyoil futures.

FCPO-KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures ended largely unchanged on Thursday as investors felt the previous day's sell-off due to slumping Chinese equity markets was overdone, although fears of a slowdown in exports persisted.

Benchmark November palm oil futures on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose as much as 51 ringgit to 2,353 ringgit ($667.1) per tonne.

But the most-active contract could not sustain its rebound from a 2-week low of 2,284 ringgit hit in previous session and settled 2 ringgit up at 2,301 ringgit.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Singapore's stock market climbed
more than 1 percent on Thursday, while Malaysia and Indonesia snapped a three-day losing streak as surging crude oil boosted commodity shares like Golden Agri, Kuala Lumpur Kepong and Adro Energy.

Market sentiment in the region was lifted by Chinese shares, which clawed higher after a two-week sell-off, and crude oil, which was steady above $72 a barrel.

Singapore's Straits Times Index <.FTSTI> rose 1.5 percent, with crude palm oil planter Golden Agri-Resources rising 4.3 percent in response to higher Malaysian palm oil futures.

Malaysia <.KLSE> was up 0.7 percent, with plantation firm KL Kepong 2.2 percent higher and IOI Corp up 1.6 percent. Indonesia <.JKSE> jumped 2.2 percent, with Adro Energy surging 6 percent and Bumi Resources up 3.4 percent.