Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, April 12 (Reuters) - The Dow industrials closed above 11,000 for the first time in almost 19 months on Monday as expectations of solid first-quarter earnings spurred buying in financial, energy and industrial sectors.

Even so, some investors said stock prices already reflect lofty expectations for first-quarter results, with both the Dow and the S&P 500 near 19-month highs.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> rose 8.62 points, or 0.08 percent, to 11,005.97 -- its highest close since September 2008. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> climbed 2.11 points, or 0.18 percent, to 1,196.48. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> added 3.82 points, or 0.16 percent, to 2,457.87.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, April 12 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures fell on Monday, a fourth consecutive lower settlement, as concerns about high inventories and tepid demand offset support from a weaker dollar.

Crude futures seesawed, with oil lifted at times during the session by plans to aid Greece, which strengthened the euro against the dollar, and data showing China imported a near record monthly amount of crude oil in March.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, May crude fell 58 cents, or 0.68 percent, to settle at $84.34 a barrel, trading from $84.08 to $85.71.

CBOT-CHICAGO, April 12 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade grains and soy complex close on Monday.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - May up 7-3/4 cents at $9.60 a bushel; November down 1-1/2 cents at $9.35. Nearbys gain sharply against deferreds on bull spreads, supported by slow farmer sales in U.S. and South America, along with news of fresh sales of old-crop U.S. soybeans to China.

CBOT-SOYOIL - May down 0.45 cent at 39.59 cents per lb. Losing ground to soymeal as oil/meal spreads unwind and setting back from last week's gains.

FCPO-KUALA LUMPUR, April 12 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures ended mixed on Monday due to a technical correction with the benchmark June contract down 2.3 percent after hitting a near three-week high the previous session.

The market will probably trade in a tight range in the immediate term said a trader from a foreign brokerage, pegging the support and resistance levels for crude palm oil futures at 2,500 and 2,600 ringgit.

The benchmark June contract on Bursa Malaysia's derivatives exchange closed 59 ringgit lower at 2,535 ringgit ($796.2) a tonne. Traded volume rose to 14,632 lots of 25 tonnes each from the usual 10,000 lots.

Malaysia's March palm oil stocks dropped 7.5 percent to six-month lows as overseas demand outweighed a strong production recovery in absolute terms, industry regulator Malaysia Palm Oil Board said on Monday.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, April 12 (Reuters) - Thai stocks fell 3.6 percent to four-week lows on Monday as investors unloaded big caps after a deadly anti-government protests, while Indonesia rose over 1 percent, with bank stocks leading the way.

Other Southeast Asian markets extended gains, with Singapore <.FTSTI> edging up 0.17 percent, Malaysia <.KLSE> adding 0.4 percent, the Philippines <.PSI> climbing 1.3 percent and Vietnam <.VNI> finishing 0.5 percent higher.

In Singapore, actively traded stocks included Cosco Corp , which jumped 9.3 percent. Top bank DBS Group rose 1.8 percent and Singapore Telecoms was up 0.6 percent.

Among outperformers in Kuala Lumpur, financial CIMB Group gained 0.7 percent and Tenaga Nasional rose 0.5 percent.