Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, June 8 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks mostly rose in volatile trading on Tuesday, led by materials and financial shares, but investors shied away from big-cap technology shares on concerns about their European exposure.

Once again, the market was treated to late-day volatility, this time with stocks closing at or near session highs after a wobbly session.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> gained 123.49 points, or 1.26 percent, to 9,939.98. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> rose 11.53 points, or 1.10 percent, to 1,062.00. But the Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> dropped 3.33 points, or 0.15 percent, to 2,170.57.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, June 8 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures rebounded on Tuesday as risk appetite improved with the dollar weakening against the euro and ahead of inventory data forecast to show that domestic crude stocks fell last week.

Crude got an early lift from Wall Street, which opened higher the session after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the U.S. economy appeared to have enough momentum to avoid a double-dip recession.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude for July delivery settled up 55 cents, or 0.77 percent, at $71.99 a barrel. It was an "inside day" for July crude, trading from $70.75 to $72.40, against Monday's $69.51 to $72.49 range.

CBOT-CHICAGO, June 8 (Reuters) - U.S. soybean futures fell on Tuesday due to strong crop ratings from the U.S. Agriculture Department and technical selling.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - July last down 8 cents at $9.27 per bushel. USDA soybean ratings 75 percent good to excellent, planting 84 percent complete, topping forecasts for 70 percent.

CBOT-SOYOIL - July last up 0.18 cent at 36.65 cents per lb. Strength in crude oil supportive.

FCPO-KUALA LUMPUR, June 8 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures hit fresh one-week lows on Tuesday as concerns over the fiscal health of European economies sapped sentiment.

Expectations of higher Malaysian production in May partly weighed on the market, which has dropped nearly 9 percent so far this year.

A Reuters poll showed output rose 6 percent in the last month from April although resilient local and foreign demand put stocks in the world's No. 2 producer at 8-month lows.

The benchmark August crude palm oil futures on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange traded 0.7 percent lower to 2,431 ringgit ($733.3) per tonne. Traded volume was heavy, rising to 14,202 lots of 25 tonnes each from the usual 10,000 lots.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, June 8 (Reuters) - Indonesian shares climbed 1 percent on Tuesday while most Southeast Asian stocks ended mixed as energy and resource shares recouped recent losses.

Several bourses in the region took a breather after recent sell-offs on concern about euro zone debt and ahead of Chinese economic data and a European Central Bank meeting later in the week.

Singapore <.FTSTI> and Thailand <.SETI> ended off their day's highs, edging down 0.2 percent and 0.3 percent respectively. Malaysia <.KLSE> was up 0.15 percent, the Philippines <.PSI> was 0.3 percent higher and Vietnam <.VNI> inched up 0.06 percent.

Palm oil shares in the region were weaker, with Malaysia's Sime Darby down 0.13 percent, IOI Corp down 0.2 percent and Singapore-listed Wilmar International down 0.5 percent.

Broker CIMB Investment Bank downgraded Asian Plantation sector from overweight to neutral as earnings growth momentum was slowing and there was downside risk to crude palm oil (CPO) price forecasts if the euro debt crisis spread.