DJI- NEW YORK, Aug 16 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 closed at its highest level since early April on Thursday after comments from German Chancellor Angela Merkel that appeared to support the European Central Bank's efforts to fight the region's debt crisis, while Cisco Systems jumped after it raised its dividend.
The Nasdaq outperformed the market after Cisco shares jumped nearly 10 percent and Apple Inc AAPL.O shares hit a new closing high of $636.34, while broad gains across most S&P 500 sectors offset a gloom from Wal-Mart Stores Inc WMT.N.
The day's gain was the first significant move since a 2 percent gain on Aug 3. Since then, the S&P 500 has been moving mostly higher, but in a slow motion.
"I think the biggest plus today is the fact that people realize that we are now really in an upward trend. We faced resistance but for over a week, we moved higher slowly without a significant pullback. That is what's pulling people in, although volume remains low," said Frank Gretz, market analyst at Wellington Shields & Co in New York.
"Some say we are climbing the 'wall of worry.' I think we are climbing the wall of low expectations. Because nobody is expecting anything good, it is easy to move up on any news."
Merkel said ECB chief Mario Draghi's vow to do all that is necessary to defend the euro is in line with what European leaders have been saying. Some traders took that as a sign Germany may be drawing nearer to backing purchases of sovereign bonds of troubled European nations such as Spain.
Facebook Inc FB.O fell to a new low of $19.69 as shares hit the market after the expiration of a lockup period, which had prevented sales by some insiders. The stock ended down 6.3 percent at $19.87.
Cisco Systems Inc CSCO.O rose 9.6 percent to $19.02 after the company said it would hike its dividend 75 percent after surprisingly strong results late Wednesday. The dividend increase countered a gloomy outlook from Cicso on the debt crisis and recession in Europe.
NYMEX- NEW YORK, Aug 16 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures rose to three-month highs on Thursday as apparent German support for the European Central Bank's efforts to combat the euro zone crisis lifted equities, pressured the dollar and fed hopes for more economic stimulus from central banks.
CBOT SOYBEAN- Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade fell, setting back from Wednesday's 2.3 percent rise, as rains crossing parts of the U.S. Midwest lifted soy yield prospects, traders said.
* Commodity Weather Group said better-than-expected rains of 0.5 to 1.0 inch (1.3-2.5 cm) fell in Iowa and Wisconsin on Wednesday, and updated midday forecasts showed a better chance for rains next week than earlier outlooks had indicated.
• Trade remained light, with estimated volume in CBOT soybean futures on track to fall below 130,000 contracts for a third straight day.
• Additional pressure stemmed from USDA Farm Service Agency data that some traders said implied an increase in U.S. 2012 soybean planted acreage from USDA's Aug. 10 crop report.
• Firm domestic cash soybean markets underpinned spot September soybeans SU2, limiting losses. Farmer soy sales have slowed while cash crush margins remain strong, traders said.
• Plans to plant a record soybean crop in Brazil could leave the No. 2 producer with a seed and pesticide shortage, the local head of Syngenta SYNN.VX, the world's largest agrochemicals company, said.
• USDA reported export sales of U.S. soybeans in the latest week at 1.022 million tonnes (old and new crop years combined), topping trade expectations for 750,000 to 950,000 tonnes.
• USDA reported weekly U.S. soymeal sales at 130,700 tonnes, below trade expectations for 150,000 to 250,000, and soyoil sales at a net 1,500 tonnes, below expectations.
• USDA said exporters reported the sale of 123,900 tonnes of U.S. soymeal to the Philippines for 2012/13 delivery.
FCPO- SINGAPORE, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures edged up to a near 2-week high on Thursday as exports staged a tentative recovery, signalling stocks could come under pressure.
Futures had dropped on Tuesday to the lowest since last October, as higher output and slower exports initially raised concerns over swelling stocks in Malaysia.
But prices recovered after Wednesday's export data showed signs of recovery for the first half of August, which could put pressure on stocks that hit a 5-month high in July.
"It looks like there has been some profit-taking from traders who shorted a few days back. After all, the market has come down by almost 300 ringgit," said a Singapore-based trader with a foreign commodities house.
The benchmark November palm oil futures FCPOc3 on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 1.4 percent to close at 2,942 ringgit ($941) per tonne, just off a high of 2,948 ringgit, a level last seen on Aug. 3.
The contract hit a low of 2,820 ringgit on Tuesday, a level not seen since Oct. 18 last year.
Total traded volumes stood at 30,017 lots of 25 tonnes each, higher than the usual 25,000 lots.
REGIONAL EQUITY- BANGKOK, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets were mixed on Thursday with Malaysia falling after six days of gains and Singapore eking out slim gains led by commodities stocks such as Noble Group Ltd.
Malaysia's main index .KLSE finished down 0.22 percent after a choppy session while Singapore's Straits Times Index .FTSTI was up 0.03 percent. Noble Group NOBG.SI and Wilmar International Ltd WLIL.SI each advanced more than 2 percent.
Oil prices, which steadied near three-month highs, were supportive to sentiment in commodities but the broader market remained fragile due to worries about the global economy.
Jakarta's Composite Index .JKSE extended its gain for a third session, rising 0.45 percent to the highest close in more than three months. The market reopens on Thursday after six days of holidays.
