Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Investors stayed cautious on Wednesday after a rally, leaving stocks little changed despite solid reports on new home sales and durable goods orders.

For the third consecutive day, equities bounced after favorable news, but the gains fizzled. The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> rose 4.23 points,
or 0.04 percent, at 9,543.52. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> added just 0.12 of a point, or 0.01 percent, to 1,028.12. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> ended up just 0.20 points, or 0.01 percent, at 2,024.43.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, Aug 26 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures ended down but well above session lows on Wednesday after government data showed crude oil inventories rose far less last week than what an industry report showed on Tuesday.

"The (EIA) numbers were not as negative as the API numbers were. So the market bounced," said Tom Bentz, analyst at BNP Paribas Commodity Futures Inc, in New York.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, October crude settled 62 cents lower, or 0.86 percent, at $71.43 a barrel, trading from $70.67 to $72.64.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - September down 1/2 cent per bushel at $10.90-1/2. November down 2-1/2 at $9.96-1/2.

Good crop weather in the United States, firm dollar and lower crude oil weigh despite news farmers in Argentina to go on strike.

CBOT-SOYOIL - September down 0.08 cent per lb at 36.46. Following soy with firm dollar and lower crude oil also weighing.

FCPO-JAKARTA, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures closed little changed on Wednesday, giving up more than 1 percent in late trade on profit-taking, amid caution about production prospects for this month, traders said.

The benchmark November palm oil futures on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange edged up 2 ringgit, or 0.1 percent to 2,357 ($669.03) per tonne, after going as high as 2,385 ringgit. Overall volume was 15,048 lots of 25 tonnes each.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Major Southeast Asian stock
markets posted small gains in cautious trade on Wednesday, with sectors such as financials and airlines advancing as investors bought stocks likely to benefit from economic recovery.

Singapore's index <.FTSTI> rose 0.4 percent, led by a 1.4 percent gain in Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp and a 3.3 percent rise in Singapore Airlines .

Other markets moved in a confined range, with Malaysia's index <.KLSE> inching up 0.13 percent, Indonesia's index <.JKSE> flat and Thailand's index <.SETI> adding 0.4 percent, building on a four-day rise of almost 4 percent.