Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, July 20 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks closed near unchanged on Wednesday, a day after Wall Street's best rally since March, as the oncoming debt ceiling deadline overshadowed strong earnings from Apple Inc.

Apple AAPL.O hit another all-time high one day after the maker of the iPhone and iPad reported quarterly revenues that far exceeded expectations.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI lost 15.44 points, or 0.12 percent, to 12,571.98. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX shed 0.87 points, or 0.07 percent, to 1,325.86. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC dropped 12.29 points, or 0.43 percent, to 2,814.23.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, July 20 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures rose for a second day on Wednesday after data showed domestic crude stocks fell sharply last week and on hopes that debt problems in the United States and the euro zone would soon be resolved.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, the August contract CLQ1 expired and settled at $98.14, up 64 cents, or 0.66 percent, after trading from $96.64 to $99.02.

CBOT-SOYBEANS-Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade ended firmer on worries about stressful hot weather in the U.S. Midwest crop belt, traders said.

But prices ended below the day's highs and dipped lower in volatile trade in the closing minutes of the session as corn futures fell on some updated weather forecasts for temperatures to moderate next week.

FCPO-KUALA LUMPUR, July 20 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures rose 1.5 percent to hit near one-month highs on Wednesday as firmer commodity markets and expectations of higher export demand lifted sentiment.

Cargo surveyors Intertek Testing Services and Societe Generale de Surveillance on Tuesday showed Malaysian palm oil exports during the first 20 days of this month rose 5.4 and 5.7 percent repectively, compared to the same period a month ago.[

The benchmark October crude palm oil contract KPOc3 on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives rose 46 ringgit to hit the highest level since June 23 of 3,153 ringgit ($1,048.815) per tonne.

Overall traded volume was 33,205 lots of 25 tonnes each, from the usual 25,000 lots.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-COLOMBO, July 20 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets gained on Wednesday as hopes that a U.S. debt default would be averted brought buyers back, driving Indonesia and the Philippines to record highs.

Appetite for risky assets overall was up after comments by President Barack Obama that progress was being made towards a debt reduction deal.

Singapore .FTSTI rose 1 percent to a two-week high on strong earnings hopes, while Malaysia .KLSE gained 0.5 percent, snapping a two-day fall.