DOW JONES-NEW YORK, Nov 30 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks surged on Wednesday after major central banks agreed to make cheaper dollar loans for struggling European banks to prevent the euro-zone debt woes from turning into a full-blown credit crisis.
The Dow posted its best day since March 2009 after the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and other major central banks stepped in to head off escalating funding pressures that threaten the key arteries of the world's financial system.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> shot up 490.05 points, or 4.24 percent, to end at 12,045.68. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> jumped 51.77 points, or 4.33 percent, to 1,246.96. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> soared 104.83 points, or 4.17 percent, to close at 2,620.34.
NYMEX-NEW YORK, Nov 30 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures rose for a fourth day on Wednesday as a move by top central banks to prevent a global liquidity crunch eased some economic worries, but an unexpected rise in domestic crude inventories limited gains.
Upbeat U.S. economic data on private sector jobs, stronger business activity in the Midwest and higher pending home sales kept U.S. crude supported, preventing a slide to negative territory after the inventory data was released mid-morning.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, January crude
CBOT-SOYBEANS-Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade ended higher after a move by central banks to ease global liquidity fears lifted the euro against the dollar and buoyed prices of dollar-denominated commodities.
Fears of a global economic downturn eased and Wall Street surged after the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank as well as the central banks of Canada, Britain, Japan and Switzerland agreed to lower the cost of existing dollar swap lines -- reducing the cost of temporary dollar loans to banks --by half a percentage point.
FCPO-SINGAPORE, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures fell on Wednesday as euro zone caution and thin trading volumes overshadowed prospects of lower production aggravated by erratic weather.
Investor caution grew over the chance for more progress in resolving lingering euro zone debt woes after officials agreed to boost a rescue fund and seek more aid from the International Monetary Fund.
Benchmark February palm oil futures
REGIONAL EQUITIES-Nov 30 (Reuters) - Major Southeast Asian markets gained on Wednesday in moderate volumes with Thailand and Malaysia rising to two-week highs but investors mostly remained cautious because of the lingering euro zone debt crisis.
Malaysia <.KLSE> jumped 1.9 percent to its highest close since Nov. 15 and Thailand <.SETI> rose 0.7 percent. Singapore
U.S. consumer confidence in November bounced back from a 2-1/2 year low as apprehension about job and income prospects eased, according to a private sector report released on Tuesday.
