Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Wall Street stocks rose on Tuesday as traders took positions in beaten-down shares ahead of the start of the earnings season.

But gains were held in check as investors were cautious before a key vote by Slovakia on expanding the euro zone rescue fund.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was up 7.26 points, or 0.06 percent, at 11,440.44. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> added 2.15 points, or 0.18 percent, at 1,197.04. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> put on 17.25 points, or 0.6percent, at 2,583.30.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, Oct 11 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures rose a fifth straight session on Tuesday, pushing up from lows as equities recovered from a weak start and receiving a late lift from news that authorities broke up an alleged plot to bomb Israeli and Saudi Arabian embassies in Washington.

But U.S. crude prices pared gains and briefly turned lower in post-settlement trading on news that Slovakia's government lost a confidence vote called on a plan to bolster the euro zone's EFSF rescue fund, but the package was expected to go through in a later revote because the outgoing prime minister planned to ask for help from the opposition.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, November crude rose 40 cents, or 0.47 percent, to settle at $85.81 a barrel, $83.97 to $86.64.

CBOT-SOYBEANS-Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade soared 4.8 percent by the closing bell, their biggest single-day rise in a year, as traders covered short positions ahead of a monthly U.S. government crop report, traders said.

Talk that China may have bought six to eight cargoes of soybeans since Friday, mostly from the United States, added support.

FCPO-JAKARTA, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures closed higher on Tuesday on strong exports, but gains were limited by caution ahead of a key U.S. report this week that could show a rise in soybean stocks, which could mean larger supplies of a competing edible oil.

Any rise in soyoil supply comes as Malaysian palm oil stocks hit a 21 month high in September, potentially pressuring benchmark palm oil futures that have lost more than 25 percent so far this year.

December palm oil futures <0#FCPO:> on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed up 0.3 percent to 2,801 ringgit ($896) per tonne.

Traded volumes for the December contract stood at 12,761 lots of 25 tonnes each compared with 13,270 lots on Monday.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets clawed higher on Tuesday, led by financials and commodity-related shares amid cautious optimism that European banks may avert a financial crisis, and Indonesian shares got an additional lift from a surprise interest rate cut.

Trading volume was solid for most of the markets as players picked up recently beaten-down blue chips and foreigners returned.

Malaysia <.KLSE> rose 1.05 percent, Singapore <.FTSTI> edged up 0.9 percent and the Philippines <.PSI> climbed 1.7 percent, each hitting their highest in almost three weeks at one point.

In Singapore, banks outperformed the broader market, as China bought shares in local banks to support stock prices, which eased fears of a hard landing and was seen as an indication its government would support its banking system. DBS Group Holdings Ltd rose 2.5 percent.