Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, Feb 16 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 rose on Wednesday to twice its value from just two years ago, a bounce whose vigor has not been seen since the Great Depression.

Stocks were boosted by Dell earnings and deal announcements fueling hope for more gains, but light volume makes the recent move more tenuous. The market overcame concerns about tensions between Israel and Iran, and indexes slowly climbed back to close near the session's high.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> gained 61.53 points, or 0.50 percent, to 12,288.17. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> rose 8.31 points, or 0.63 percent, to 1,336.32. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> added 21.21 points, or 0.76 percent, to 2,825.56.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, Feb 16 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures settled higher on Wednesday as fresh tensions between Israel and Iran added to concerns about Middle East unrest that already had markets on edge.

Trading was volatile after Israel's foreign minister said Iran planned to send two Iranian warships through the Suez Canal en route to Syria, rattling markets already eyeing Egyptian-style protests spreading to Libya and other countries in North Africa and the Middle East.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, March crude rose 67 cents, or 0.79 percent, to settle at $84.99 a barrel, having traded from $84.12 to $85.95.

CBOT-CHICAGO, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade grain and soy complex close on Wednesday.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - March down 2 cents at $13.66 per bushel. Pressured by fund long-liquidation but soy closed above
the day's lows on late short-covering and bargain buying.

CBOT-SOYOIL - March up 0.07 cent at 56.61 cents per lb. Support from gains in crude oil.

FCPO-JAKARTA, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures fell more than 3 percent on Wednesday, tracking many commodity prices lower, as traders said many opted to book profits as the vegetable oil had overrun its positive fundamentals in recent weeks.

Investors, also wary of funds liquidating positions in other commodity markets, maintained the bullish near-term outlook for palm oil, with falling output and rising demand seen supporting prices in the coming weeks.

The benchmark May 2011 crude palm oil contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives fell 3.6 percent to 3,745 Malaysian ringgit ($1,226) a tonne after going as low as 3,741 ringgit -- a level unseen since Jan. 31. Overall traded volume stood at 14,551 lots of 25 tonnes each, compared with a total of 11,265 lots on Monday.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets rose in choppy sessions on Wednesday as investors sought bargains from energy and resource shares to capitalise on a strong global oil market.

Turnover was generally weak, with the impact of rising inflation on corporate profits looming large. Indonesia saw market turnover falling to 0.6 times its 30-day average, with Thailand and Malaysia each dropping to around 0.8 times.

Other sharemarkets reversed early losses, with Singapore's Straits Times Index <.FTSTI> ending up 0.46 percent. Malaysia <.KLSE> and Indonesia stocks <.JKSE> both finished flat.

Kuala Lumpur added $55 million in outflows to $640 million over the past six sessions while Bangkok had a combined $270 million inflows for three sessions to Wednesday.