DOW JONES-NEW YORK, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Global stocks posted their strongest gains in three weeks and the euro rose on Tuesday on signs of improved economic prospects in Germany and the United States, as well as a better-than-expected Spanish debt auction.
U.S. stocks jumped, led by basic materials shares as commodity prices also rallied. Wall Street also got a boost from a 1-1/2 year high in housing starts and permits for future construction that suggested the housing market was starting to recover.
After the closing bell in New York, the Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was up 337.32 points, or 2.87 percent, at 12,103.58. The S&P 500 Index <.INX> gained 35.95 points, or 2.98 percent, to 1,241.30. The Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> rose 80.59 points, or 3.19 percent, to 2,603.73.
NYMEX-NEW YORK, Dec 20 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures added to gains slightly in post-settlement trading on Tuesday after data from industry group American Petroleum Institute showed that domestic crude stocks fell sharply last week.
Earlier, U.S. crude futures settled up more than 3 percent on Tuesday on supportive economic data from the United States and Germany and as fears of supply disruptions in Iran and Kazakhstan persisted.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, January crude expired and settled at $97.22 a barrel, gaining $3.34, or 3.56 percent, the biggest one-day percentage gain since Oct. 27, when prices closed 4.17 percent higher.
CBOT-SOYBEANS, Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade rose for a fourth session, lifted by a setback in the U.S. dollar and lingering worries about South American weather, traders said.
Soyoil and palm prices are set to rise in the first half of 2012 because of flagging production and strong demand - Oil World.
Firmer soybean prices are likely in coming months because of a looming global production deficit for oilseeds and products - Hamburg-based oilseeds analysts Oil World.
FCPO-KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures ended flat on Tuesday as traders were divided between lower export demand and expectations of heavy rains disrupting output in southeast Asia.
Palm oil is however set to see a 21 percent decline in 2011, weighed down by a debt crisis in Europe where policymakers failed to boost resources at the International Monetary Fund by a targeted 200 billion euros, stirring fears the funds will not be enough to contain the crisis.
Benchmark March palm oil futures <0#FCPO:> on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange ended unchanged at 3,020 ringgit ($950) per tonne after going as low as 2,997 ringgit.
REGIONAL EQUITIES-KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets were mixed with an easier bias on Tuesday as market players cashed in any quick gains and remained focused on risks attached to the unresolved sovereign debt crisis in the euro zone.
Late selling pulled some markets down from early highs but volume was light because of the holiday season.
