Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Wall Street rose on Wednesday, led by gains in consumer stocks after a sales forecast from discounter Target Corp temporarily quelled concerns about consumer demand.

Shares of Target rose 2.5 percent to $51.95 after the company said it expects same-store sales to increase 1 percent to 3 percent in the third quarter and be up slightly more in the fourth quarter. The outlook came a day after the stock market rallied on higher-than-expected earnings from Wal-Mart Stores and Home Depot .

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was up 9.69 points, or 0.09 percent, at 10,415.54. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was up 1.62 points, or 0.15 percent, at 1,094.16. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was up 6.26 points, or 0.28 percent, at 2,215.70.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, Aug 18 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures prices fell on Wednesday as government data showed total domestic commercial petroleum inventories soared to a record last week.

Losses were pared, however, as oil traders took guidance from higher U.S. equities, an alternative marker for oil demand going forward.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, September crude settled down 35 cents, or 0.46 percent, at $75.42 a barrel, trading from $73.83, lowest since July 7's intraday low of $71.44, to $75.74.

CBOT-CHICAGO, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade grain and soy complex close on Wednesday.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - September down 10 cents at $10.35-1/4, new-crop November down 11-1/4 cents at $10.30-3/4. Cooler U.S. Midwest weather weighed on soy as it helped boost prospects a record large U.S. soybean crop this year. Decline slowed by gains in wheat and corn and outlooks for a big number for soybeans in Thursday's USDA weekly export sales report.

CBOT-SOYOIL - September down 0.73 cent at 40.86 cents per lb. Pressure from lower soy and meal/oil spreading.

FCPO-KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Malaysia crude palm oil futures fell to a fresh one-week low on Wednesday as market players booked profit on lacklustre soyoil markets.

The benchmark November crude palm oil contract dropped 1.4 percent, or 36 ringgit, to 2,610 ringgit ($827.5) per tonne after going as low as 2,592 ringgit -- a level unseen since Aug 5.

Overall traded volume almost tripled to 28,152 lots of 25 tonnes each from the usual 10,000 lots.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Thai shares rose to their highest in more than two years on Wednesday as investors snapped up energy and bank stocks, but stubborn global economic concerns capped sentiment elsewhere in the region.

Thailand recorded its third straight session of foreign inflows for a combined $52.95 million, stock exchange data showed. Strong capital flows, lured by the economic recovery, pushed Thai baht to its strongest level in 28 months.

Malaysia <.KLSE> edged up 0.5 percent, extending gains for a fourth-session to a new 2-½ year high. Malaysia's central bank issued second-quarter gross domestic production data after the market close, showing the economy accelerating 8.9 percent from a year earlier, beating consensus.

Indonesia <.JKSE> rose 0.6 percent, with net foreign inflows on the session of $23.9 million, according to Thomson Reuters data. Singapore <.FTSTI> inched down 0.14 percent and Philippines <.PSI> was up 0.9 percent at a one-week high.

In Kuala Lumpur, rallying gaming group Genting fell 0.7 percent, pausing after a 3-day rally to a three-year high. Its Genting Malaysia , the country's sole casino operator, was up 1.7 percent.

The group's Singapore-listed Genting Singapore rose 2 percent. Investor bullishness about the tourism sector helped the outlook of casino market and pushed shares in the group to overbought zone. The stock's 14-day relative strength index (RSI) was above 70 on Wednesday, which indicates overbought.

Shipping firms in the region tracked rising freight rates, with the Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index <.BADI>, which tracks rates to ship dry commodities, rising on Tuesday.