Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, Sept 2 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on low volume on Thursday as data showed improvement in housing and the job market a day ahead of the critical monthly payrolls figures.

Investors built on Wednesday's sharp advance as indicators provided the latest reason for optimism the economy could avoid another downturn. But the nascent rally could be derailed if Friday's jobs data disappoints investors.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> added 50.63 points, or 0.49 percent, to 10,320.10. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> rose 9.81 points, or 0.91 percent, to 1,090.10. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> gained 23.17 points, or 1.06 percent, to close at 2,200.01.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, Sept 2 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures prices rose on Thursday, settling above $75 a barrel on lift provided by an oil platform fire in the Gulf of Mexico and Hurricane Earl's possible impact on East Coast refineries.

Oil also received a boost from encouraging pending home sales, retail sales and jobless claims data that sent U.S. equities higher, and also the weaker dollar.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, October crude rose $1.11, or 1.5 percent, to settle at $75.02 a barrel, trading from $73.11 to $75.14.

CBOT-CHICAGO, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade grain and soy complex close on Thursday.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - September up 3 cents at $10.07-1/2 per bushel, November up 3-1/2 at $10.09. Turned higher in late trade on fund buying. Gains limited by seasonal harvest pressure.

CBOT-SOYOIL - September up 0.11 cent per lb at 39.66 cents per lb. Turns firm late following soybeans and late fund buying.

FCPO-JAKARTA, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures ended marginally higher on Thursday on steady crude oil prices, but concerns over slower overseas demand and bumper soy crops in America continued to weigh.

Cargo surveyors on Wednesday flagged a drop in August palm oil exports of up to 17.8 percent, prompting investors to book profits.

The ringgit traded at 3.1280 per dollar on Thursday against 3.1275 the previous day, but it was up 9.40 percent so far this year. A stronger ringgit makes palm oil more expensive for overseas buyers, limiting demand.

The benchmark November crude palm oil contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange ended up 7 ringgit or 0.28 percent to 2,542 ringgit ($813) a tonne. Prices had dropped 1.4 percent on Wednesday. Traded volume rose to 16,794 lots of 25 tonnes each, from the usual 10,000 lots.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Thai stocks ended with slim gains on Thursday, erasing most of an early rise due to late selling in heavyweight energy and petrochemical shares after a Thai court suspended some plants at the country's top industrial estate.

The court ruling, coming near the market close, involved the suspension of the operating licences of two projects at the Map Ta Phut industrial estate whose operations fell into categories of activities deemed harmful to the environment.

Singapore <.FTSTI> edged up 0.13 percent, hovering around two-week highs, with DBS Group Holdings Ltd , Southeast Asia's biggest bank, up 0.3 percent, while Malaysia <.KLSE> rose 0.13 percent to a 2-1/2-year high.

Malaysia's central bank held interest rates steady at 2.75 percent after the market close, in line with expectations.