Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Wall Street will see the year-end rally carry into the last week of 2010 but the question on everyone's mind is, "what's next?"

The Dow, the S&P and the Nasdaq on Thursday were up more than 5 percent on the month and the level of optimism in the market was at a six-year high. The CBOE Volatility Index VIX <.VIX>, known as Wall Street's fear gauge, was down by two-thirds from this year's peak in May.

CBOT-CHICAGO, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures rose to a 27-month high, their highest since September 2008 on Thursday as hot Argentine weather threatened crops and the United States posted strong crushing numbers, traders said.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - January up 20-3/4 cents at $13.49-1/2 per bushel. Funds bought an estimated net 5,000 contracts.

CBOT-SOYOIL - January up 0.62 cent at 56.59 cents per lb.

FCPO-KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures ended off one-week highs on Thursday, as China unveiled plans to restock agriculture commodities at a time when erratic weather globally may curb supplies.

U.S. soyoil for January delivery hit a 28-month high during Asian trade, as prospects of growing China demand extended gains in a market already rising on higher biofuel mandates in South America.

Benchmark March 2011 crude palm oil futures on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives ended up 1.1 percent at 3,658 ringgit after going as high as 3,676 ringgit ($1,170), a level unseen since Dec. 15. Traded volumes stood at 17,660 lots of 25 tonnes each compared to the usual 10,000 lots.

REGIONAl EQUITIES-BANGKOK, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets fell in thin volume on Thursday, coming off their day highs as financials shares pulled back from a recent rally.

Commodities shares bucked the trend, however, gaining on positive spillover from higher oil prices. Malaysia's share index <.KLSE> edged down 0.04 percent, coming off an intraday rise to a two-week high. Singapore's Straits Times Index <.FTSTI> dipped to 0.21 percent while Vietnam <.VNI> dropped 1.3 percent.