Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, July 15 (Reuters) - Google's blowout quarter led the Nasdaq higher on Friday but mounting uncertainty about the government's ability to reach a debt-reduction deal may keep investors at bay in the coming week.

The gains were a bright spot in a stretch dominated by selling that pushed the S&P 500 down in its worst week in five. Worries about U.S. and European government debt troubles put pressure on the market even as investors expect a batch of strong earnings next week.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 42.61 points, or 0.34 percent, to end at 12,479.73. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX gained 7.27 points, or 0.56 percent, to finish at 1,316.14. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC advanced 27.13 points, or 0.98 percent, to close at 2,789.80.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, July 15 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures rose on Friday, lifted by lower oil supplies from Canada and higher U.S. equities, to post their third straight weekly gains, outweighing the day's bleak economic reports.

In early trading, crude futures were supported by Wall Street higher opening on strong earnings from Citibank Inc C.N and Google Inc GOOG.N

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude for August delivery CLQ1 settled at $97.24a barrel, gaining $1.55, or 1.62 percent, trading $95.21 to $97.74.

CBOT-SOYBEANS-Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures closed higher on outlooks for heat and dryness in the United States next week that may harm the soybean crop.

Hot and dry weather is expected in the U.S. corn and soybean growing area for at least five to seven days with readings well into the 90s F and little rainfall. This will increase stress on crops.

FCPO-KUALA LUMPUR, July 15 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures retreated on Friday on expectations of higher supply and an uncertain global economic outlook.

Traders largely ignored strong export data, focusing instead on the debt crises in the euro zone and the United States that may slow global economic growth.

Intertek Testing Services reported Malaysian palm oil exports rose 12 percent for July 1-15 compared to a month ago. Another cargo surveyor said exports during the same period rose 4.6 percent.

Malaysia's June palm oil stocks hit an 18-month high of 2.05 million tonnes, and traders predict the figure will rise more as planters push the harvest before the Muslim festival of Eid Al-fitr in August.

The benchmark September crude palm oil contract KPOc3 on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives exchange fell 0.9 percent to 3,116 ringgit ($1,038) a tonne. Overall traded volume was light at 22,251 lots of 25 tonnes each, compared to the usual 25,000 lots.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-SINGAPORE, July 15 (Reuters) - Indonesian and Philippine stocks on Friday rose on optimistic earnings expectations in the financial sector, while Malaysian stocks were under pressure after a warning of a U.S. credit rating downgrade by Standard & Poor's hurt industrial shares.

South East Asian stock market activity was subdued with trading volumes in markets below their 30-day moving averages.

Worries about a potential debt default in developed economies kept investors' appetite for riskier assets at bay, Asia's relatively robust earnings outlook may keep attracting capital flows, analysts said

Malaysian stocks .KLSE ended down 0.16 percent led by falls in industrial names, while Singapore shares .FTSI dipped.

Still, southeast Asian stocks are not free from risk-off mode on worries about the global economic slowdown and fiscal problems in the euro zone and the United States, analysts said.