Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, June 16 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose in volatile trading on Thursday, thanks only to technical factors and options expirations. But raging uncertainty about Greece prevented investors from committing money to the market.

The impending expiration of stock-index futures, single-stock futures, equity options and stock-index options for June -- known as quadruple witching -- created exceptional volatility, pushing the S&P 500 to swing more than 1 percent from its session low to its intraday high.

Greece kept a pall over investor sentiment, even though experts say U.S. banks' exposure to Greek debt may be smaller than many market participants fear.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI gained 64.25 points, or 0.54 percent, to 11,961.52. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX added 2.22 points, or 0.18 percent, to 1,267.64. But the Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC dropped 7.76 points, or 0.29 percent, to 2,623.70.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, June 16 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures rebounded on Thursday, buoyed by a forecast of higher demand from the International Energy Administration and better readings of the U.S. labor and housing markets.

Gains were limited by a Federal Reserve report that mid-Atlantic factory activity fell to a near two-year low, which added to recent signals of a slowing economic recovery.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, July crude CLN1 settled up 14 cents, or 0.15 percent, at $94.95 a barrel, trading from $94.29 to $95.75.

CBOT-SOYBEANS-Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures ended lower on fund long-liquidation linked to better U.S. crop weather, a firm dollar and on spillover selling from falling corn futures.

Technical selling tied to a soaring dollar on mounting concern about the global economy and Greece's debt crisis.

FCPO-KUALA LUMPUR, June 16 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures dropped on Thursday as traders cut back on worries that stocks could grow beyond two million tonnes this month.

Although orders for the tropical oil have grown in response to higher output in Malaysia and a widening discount to competing soyoil, stocks are expected to rise above a 16-month high of 1.92 million tonnes hit in May.

If in the next few months Malaysian stocks rise above the record 2.3 million tonnes last seen in November 2008, palm oil prices could extend its 14 percent loss notched so far this year.

By midday, the benchmark September crude palm oil contract KPOc3 on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange fell 0.7 percent or 22 ringgit to 3,248 ringgit ($1,071) a tonne.

Overall traded volume was a tad light with 8,502 lots of 25 tonnes each exchanged, compared to the usual 12,500 lots.

Cargo surveyor Societe Generale de Surveillance said June 1-15 Malaysian palm oil exports jumped 16.2 percent to 699,674 tonnes from a month ago.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, June 16 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets fell on Thursday as faltering world economic growth took its toll on sectors with global exposure, while Singapore property developers fell after a drop in private home sales.

Worries about weak U.S. economic data and Greece's debt troubles clouded regional sentiment. Stocks in Singapore .FTSTI fell 1.1 percent to the lowest in almost three months and Indonesia .JKSE lost 1.4 percent to a two-month low.

Malaysia .KLSE, Thailand .SETI and the Philippines .PSI also ended lower but Vietnam .VNI, the region's smallest bourse, bucked the trend, rising 0.8 percent to end a three-session losing streak.