Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, April 23 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose to a 19-month high on Friday as Merck eased concerns about the impact of healthcare reform, saying its costs will be relatively low.

Energy shares lifted the broad market after oil rose 1.7 percent to above $85 a barrel on positive economic data. The S&P energy index <.GSPE> gained 2.3 percent, while Chevron was up 1.8 percent at $82.67.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> gained 69.99 points, or 0.63 percent, to 11,204.28. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> rose 8.61 points, or 0.71 percent, to 1,217.28. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> added 11.08 points, or 0.44 percent, to 2,530.15.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, April 23 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures settled above $85 a barrel on Friday, the highest in a week, as economic optimism spurred by a big rise in home sales raised new hopes that the economic recovery was on course.

Risk appetite was stronger, with the dollar dipping slightly against a basket of currencies. <.DXY>. The euro rebounded from one-year lows against the dollar as Greece sought to activate a financial aid package and Germany said it was ready to commit to a plan to bail out the debt-laden country.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, June crude settled up $1.42, or $1.7 percent, at $85.12, highest since April 15's $85.51. It traded from $82.92 to $85.1.

CBOT-CHICAGO, April 23 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade grains and soy complex close on Friday.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - May down 4-1/4 cents at $10.00 per bushel; new-crop November down 6 at $9.79. Profit-taking after the strong rally to a three-month high on Thursday weighs on soybean futures.

CBOT-SOYOIL - May up 0.26 cent at 39.35 cents per lb. Unwinding of meal/oil spreads lifts soyoil and weighs on soymeal. Turnaround in crude oil also supportive to prices.

FCPO-KUALA LUMPUR, April 23 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures climbed 2 percent on Friday to hit one-week highs as rising vegetable oil markets and expectations of improving export data lifted prices.

Cargo surveyors are due to report April 1-25 exports for Malaysia on Monday. Shipments have slowed a downward trend, falling just 9 percent for April 1-20 from a month ago compared to declines of about a third in the first ten days of the month.

The benchmark July crude palm oil futures on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives settled up 50 ringgit to 2,540 ringgit ($793.2) per tonne, a level unseen since April 14. Overall traded volume shot up to 15,169 lots of 25 tonnes each from the usual 10,000 lots.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, April 23 (Reuters) - Thai stocks ended almost 1 percent lower on Friday because of escalating political violence, while other markets in Southeast Asia were narrowly mixed, with some heavyweight stocks in demand after good quarterly results.

Singapore <.FTSTI> and the Philippines <.PSI> eked out gains of 0.2 percent while Malaysia <.KLSE> and Indonesia <.JKSE> were marginally lower. Vietnam was closed for a national holiday.

Singapore's Keppel Corp , the world's largest rig builder, rose 0.9 percent after reporting a better-than-expected 13 percent jump in first-quarter net profit, thanks to a strong property business.

In Kuala Lumpur, Maybank was down 0.4 percent and Sime Darby lost 1 percent. Bucking the trend, shipper MISC rose 2.3 percent after an analyst's upgrade.