Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, May 12 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks capped their best three-day run in 10 months on Wednesday, lifted by technology and industrial shares after Spain unveiled an austerity plan that reassured investors Europe was addressing its fiscal ills.

Spain said it will slash civil service pay and cut public-sector jobs, just a few days after EU finance ministers approved a 750 billion euro ($1 trillion) bailout package to stem the debt crisis, cheering investors.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> rose 148.65 points, or 1.38 percent, to 10,896.91. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> added 15.88 points, or 1.37 percent, to 1,171.67. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> gained 49.71 points, or 2.09percent, to 2,425.02.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, May 12 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures edged lower on Wednesday as concerns about economic recovery persisted and robust stockpiles kept front-month crude oil prices curbed ahead of the government's weekly inventory report.

Trading was choppy and a lowered demand growth forecast from the International Energy Agency added to the bearish tint to the market

On the New York Mercantile Exchange at 10:00 a.m. EDT, June crude was down 10 cents, or 0.13 percent, at $76.27 a barrel, trading from $75.42 to $76.81.

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

CBOT-SOYBEANS - July down 1/2 cent at $9.65-1/2 per bushel. New-crop November unchanged at $9.37-1/2. Corn/soy spreading, firm dollar and lower crude oil combined to weigh in addition to lingering pressure from USDA's forecast on Tuesday for a larger ending stockpile of U.S. soy than analysts' average estimate.

CBOT-SOYOIL - July up 0.11 cent at 38.43 cents per lb. Unwinding of meal/oil spreads lifts soyoil and weighs on soymeal.

FCPO-JAKARTA, May 12 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures edged up on Wednesday as the ringgit weakened against the U.S. dollar, but investors were reluctant to take fresh positions.

The benchmark July palm oil contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives rose 0.08 percent, or 2 ringgit, to 2,507 ringgit ($803.9) a tonne, after rising as high as 2,516 ringgit. Overall volume traded was 6,747 lots of 25 tonnes each, well below the daily average volume of 10,000 lots.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, May 12 (Reuters) - Thai stocks ended with small gains on Wednesday after the government said it would step up efforts to end damaging anti-government protests while other regional markets pushed higher despite euro zone debt woes.

The Thai market reacted positively to the authorities' move to end a rally that has closed a Bangkok commercial district for over a month but the protesters' defiance prompted late selling.

Other Southeast Asian stock markets gained, with Singapore <.FTSTI> up 0.8 percent, Malaysia <.KLSE> up 0.3 percent, Indonesia <.JKSE> 1.2 percent and the Philippines <.PSI> up 0.2 percent, extending a jump of nearly 4 percent on Tuesday after the country's presidential election. Vietnam <.VNI>, the smallest bourse, dropped 2.8 percent, with a small foreign net outflow for the session, Thomson Reuters data showed. Some shares fell after reporting quarterly results, with Singapore's Wilmar International easing 0.3 percent. Wilmar posted a 6 percent rise in first-quarter earnings but did not see strong volume growth lasting in 2010.