Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, Aug 21 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks ended the week at 2009 highs on Friday after a surprising rise in home sales and optimistic comments from Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke reassured investors about the prospects for an economic recovery.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hit 10-month intraday highs, while the Dow industrials rose to their highest level in nine months. The S&P 500 is now up 51.7 percent from its 12-year closing low set on March 9.

At the Fed's annual conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Bernanke gave his clearest signal yet that the global economy is emerging from a recession. But the Fed chairman warned that growth would be sluggish for a time.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> jumped 155.91 points, or 1.67 percent, to end at 9,505.96. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> climbed 18.76 points, or 1.86 percent, to 1,026.13. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> rose 31.68 points, or 1.59 percent, to 2,020.90.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, Aug 21 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures ended at a 10-month high Friday on economic optimism, as Wall Street gained sharply and the dollar weakened.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, new front-month October crude settled up 98 cents, or 1.34 percent, at $73.89 a barrel, the highest settlement since Oct. 20, 2008, when the top contract ended at $74.25.

NYMEX October crude traded from $72.03 to $74.72, the highest intraday price for the year and marking the highest since front-month prices hit $75.69 on Oct. 21, 2008.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - September up 23-3/4 cents at $10.23 a bushel; November up 16 at $9.73. Lifted by persistent Chinese buying of U.S. soy, cool U.S. weather slowing crop maturity raising concern of potential damage from an early frost, weaker dollar.

CBOT-SOYOIL - September up 0.53 cent at 36.33 cents a lb. Spillover support from strong gains in soy combined with firm crude oil and weak dollar.

FCPO-KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil rose 1.9 percent on Friday, recovering from a near three-week low earlier in the session on talk of lower production in a key growing region.

Benchmark November palm oil futures on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange fell as much as 67 ringgit to 2,234 ringgit ($634.7) per tonne, a level unseen since Aug. 3, but recovered slightly to settle up 44 ringgit at 2,324 ringgit.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets erased earlier falls to end positive on Friday as investors bought back energy and financial stocks, while Singapore defied the trend by ending near a four-week low.

Trading was volatile as investors nervously watched markets in China, where the Shanghai index <.SSEC> ended up 1.7 percent after a 20 percent tumble in the two weeks to Wednesday on concerns over the pace of economic recovery.

Malaysian stocks <.KLSE> closed flat, edging up 0.03 percent, Indonesia stocks <.JKSE> climbed 0.23 percent, and Vietnam <.VNI> rose for a third straight day, ending up 1.03 percent to 519.17 to its highest since Sept. 9, 2008.

However, Singapore's benchmark stock index <.FTSTI> ended down 0.57 percent to a near four-week low, with plam oil planter Golden Agri-Resources dipping 1.03 percent, hit by falling palm oil futures.