Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, July 12 (Reuters) - Caution prevailed in the U.S. stock market on Monday, with indexes edging higher as investors kept bets to a minimum in front of earnings.

Volume was among the lightest of the year with investors wanting to see if corporate outlooks validate last week's surge, the strongest week in a year. Dow component Alcoa Inc reported its second-quarter results after the closing bell.

Earnings are "going to be the test to the durability of the bounce that started last week," said Scott Marcouiller, senior equity market strategist at Wells Fargo Advisors in St. Louis.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> added 18.24 points, or 0.18 percent, to end at 10,216.27. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> edged up just 0.79 of a point, or 0.07 percent, to 1,078.75. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> gained 1.91 points, or 0.09 percent, to close at 2,198.36.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, July 12 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures fell on Monday after advancing for three sessions, as traders turned cautious ahead of the corporate reports season which will likely gauge the strength of the economic recovery.

Traders also took some profits after last week's hefty gains, triggering a price slide below $75 that cooled support for front-month August crude. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, August crude settled down $1.14, or 1.5 percent, at $74.95 a barrel, trading from $74.52 to $76.43 a barrel.

CBOT-CHICAGO, July 12 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade grain and soy complex close on Monday.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - July up 6-1/4 cents at $10.31-3/4 per bushel; new-crop November down 2-1/4 cents at $9.51. Old-crop months boosted by slow farmer selling, higher cash markets and talk China bought more U.S. soy while gains
limited in new-crop months by overall good crop weather in the U.S.

CBOT-SOYOIL - August up 0.12 cent at 37.50 cents per lb.

FCPO-KUALA LUMPUR, July 12 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil rose to its highestin 10 days on Monday as investors were buoyed by China's strong trade performance and lower-than-expected stocks.

Palm oil prices, which have dropped 12.7 percent so far this year, are set to gain in the coming days after industry regulator Malaysian Palm Oil Board reported that palm oil stocks dropped to 10-month lows in June.

The benchmark September contract rose as much as 1.8 percent to 2,341 ringgit ($732), a high unseen since July 2. The contract ended up 38 ringgit at 2,33ringgit. Overall volume shot up to 15,201 lots of 25 tonnes each from
the usual 10,000 lots.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, July 12 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets rose on Monday, with Indonesia approaching an all-time high and the Philippines at a 2-1/2-year high as investors bought companies set for good profits in the upcoming results season.

Thai stocks ended a shade lower but still hovered around a two-year high, with positive sentiment in financial firms ahead of results due to be released from this week.

In Singapore, the index <.FTSTI> rose 0.3 percent to stand around two-month highs ahead of second-quarter gross domestic product data on July 14.

Shares in Singapore-listed chemical firm SunVic Chemical surged 11.8 percent on expectations the firm would report strong second-quarter earnings, traders said.

Media firm Singapore Press Holdings rose 1 percent before it reported after the market close that its February-May net profit rose 29.9 percent from a year before to S$164.6 million ($119.3 million) as revenue from the newspaper and magazine segments rose.

Malaysia added 0.2 percent on the session, led by a 3 percent rise in telecoms firm Axiata Group and a 1.7 percent rise in PPB Group .