Surprisingly strong U.S. housing data for April drove optimism about the economy, also boosting stocks and driving up oil prices. The stock rally also eased concerns that Europe's sovereign debt crisis could restrain a fragile economic recovery.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> closed up 225.52 points, or 2.25 percent, at 10,249.54. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> rose 27.67 points, or 2.58 percent, at 1,098.38. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> gained 58.74 points, or 2.64percent, at 2,281.07
NYMEX-NEW YORK, June 2 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures settled higher on Wednesday, supported by strong U.S. pending home sales that also lifted Wall Street equities.
Crude oil futures traded inside Tuesday's range and for a second straight day finished well below the intraday high amid choppy trading ahead of the week's oil inventory reports.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, July crude
CBOT-CHICAGO, June 2 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade grain and soy complex closing trends on Wednesday.
CBOT-SOYBEANS - July
CBOT-SOYOIL - July
FCPO-JAKARTA, June 2 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures extended gains for a second day on Wednesday as firmer prices for rival soyoil sparked some short covering, traders said.
The benchmark August crude palm oil futures
REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, June 2 (Reuters) - Thai stocks gained over 1 percent on Wednesday after the Bank of Thailand decided to keep interest rates unchanged, which had been widely expected after recent political unrest but still spurred late buying, analysts said.
Southeast Asian bourses ended off their day's highs, with Singapore <.FTSTI> up 0.5 percent, Indonesia <.JKSE>, Asia's second-best performer this year, up 0.33 percent, the Philippines <.PSI> up 0.7 percent and Vietnam <.VNI> adding 0.4 percent.
Bucking the trend, Malaysia <.KLSE> drifted down 0.5 percent in thin volume, led by a 1.8 percent fall in top lender Maybank
In Singapore, Mapletree Logistics Trust