Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, Oct 29 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks logged their best one-day percentage gain in three months on Thursday as investors saw data showing the U.S. economy returned to growth in the third quarter as brightening the outlook for profits.

The government's first estimate of U.S. gross domestic product showed the economy expanded at an annual rate of 3.5 percent in the third quarter, suggesting it was emerging from the worst recession in 70 years. The quarter of growth was the first after more than a year of contraction in GDP.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> gained 199.89 points, or 2.05 percent, to end at 9,962.58. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> jumped 23.48 points, or 2.25 percent, to 1,066.11 -- marking its biggest one-day percentage gain in three months. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> shot up 37.94 points, or 1.84 percent, to close at 2,097.55.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, Oct 29 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures ended more than 3 percent higher on Thursday as data showing the U.S. economy grew in the third quarter for the first time in a year spurred fresh hopes for higher oil demand.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, December crude settled up $2.41, or 3.11 percent, at $79.87 a barrel, trading from $77.03 to $80.46.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - November up 17 cents at $9.85-1/2 a bushel. Firm crude oil lends support following soybeans dropping to their lowest level since Oct. 9.

CBOT-SOYOIL - December up 0.66 cent at 37.52 cents per lb.Strength in crude oil futures lends support to soyoil.

FCPO-KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures rose 1.7 percent on Thursday, bouncing from 2-week lows hit earlier in the session although higher stocks kept traders cautious.

The benchmark January palm oil contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange ended up 37 ringgit at 2,189 ringgit ($639.5) a tonne. The contract earlier dropped as much as 22 ringgit to 2,130 ringgit, a level unseen since Oct. 15.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets endend lower on Thursday as investors worried over the economic outlook and selling continued to hit big caps such as Singapore Telecoms, CIMB Group and Indonesia's Bank Rakyat.

Malaysia's index <.KLSE> fell 0.6 percent to the lowest since Oct. 14, weighed down by a 1 percent fall in financial CIMB Group . AMMB Holdings was down 1 percent and Genting 1.5 percent lower.

Singapore's index <.FTSI> ended down 0.6 percent, recovering some of its early fall to its lowest since Oct. 6, with Singapore Telecommunications , Southeast Asia's biggest telecom firm, dropping 2 percent to a near-four-month low.