DJI- NEW YORK, Oct 16 (Reuters) - World shares rose for a second day on Tuesday and the euro gained against the U.S. dollar as concern over U.S. corporate earnings eased and German economic data improved.
The euro jumped near $1.31 after market hours in New York to its highest since September 18 after rating agency Moody's affirmed its investment grade sovereign rating on Spain. Markets had feared that a downgrade could have forced some holders of Spanish debt to sell, further lifting Madrid's borrowing costs.
Reports that Spain may be close to seeking a bailout and that Greece may receive more financial aid stoked investors' appetite for riskier assets, with European shares closing up more than 1.0 percent, led by financial stocks.
U.S. stocks rose after stronger-than-expected earnings from big-name companies. Johnson & Johnson and UnitedHealth Group both increased their full-year profit forecasts while Goldman Sachs raised its dividend.
"One of the biggest things coming into this earnings reporting season was this drum beat for how bad it was going to be," said Art Hogan, managing director of Lazard Capital Markets in New York.
"We've got a chance to get some of that back because the worst-case scenario is not playing out."
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 127.55 points, or 0.95 percent, to 13,551.78. The S&P 500 .SPX gained 14.79 points, or 1.03 percent, to 1,454.92. The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 36.99 points, or 1.21 percent, to 3,101.17.
NYMEX- NEW YORK, Oct 16 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures edged higher on Tuesday supported by an equities rally on Wall Street and a weaker dollar, while expectations that U.S. crude stocks rose last week and concerns about global economic growth limited gains.
CBOT SOYBEAN- Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade ended firm on bargain-buying after a two-day sell-off and talk of export demand from China, but the market pared gains by the close.
* USDA confirmed sales of 110,150 tonnes of U.S. soybeans to unknown destinations for delivery in 2012/13.
• Gains limited by a lack of fresh news and concerns about prospects for a large South American soybean crop.
• Rainfall through the last two days in southern Argentina should buoy prospects for seedings of the 2013 corn and soybean crops, while Brazil was expected to receive crop-friendly rains this week including the drier areas of northeastern Brazil.
• Soyoil gained against soymeal as meal/oil spreads unwound.
• Cash soybean basis bids were steady to firm in the interior U.S. Midwest, and soymeal basis offers also had a firm tone amid tight supplies of soybeans as the harvest entered the home stretch. (Full Story)
• USDA late Monday said the U.S. soybean harvest was 71 percent finished, up from 58 percent the previous week and ahead of the five-year average of 58 percent. US/SOY
• Sizeable declines in world export supplies of sunflower oil, rapeseed oil and soybean oil will raise the global dependence on palm oil this year - analyst Oil World.
FCPO- KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures ended slightly lower on Tuesday after top industry analysts projected weaker prices and as investors digested news that export tax cuts will only take effect next year.
Palm oil prices have fallen by a fifth since the start of the year, but they could drop further as stockpiles could reach as much as 3 million tonnes by the start of 2013, swollen by strong output and slowing exports, analysts said.
Adding to concerns over rising stocks was the government's decision to implement palm oil export tax cut only in January.
"The market is still trying to get a grip on how big stocks can get in Malaysia, as well as digesting news that the export taxes are not going to come through until early January," said ANZ agricultural commodity strategist Victor Thianpiriya.
"In the short term, this will probably depress prices a little bit, as consumers would prefer to wait until January and potentially source from Indonesia to bridge that gap."
At the close, the benchmark January contract FCPOc3 on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange fell 0.2 percent to 2,466 ringgit ($808) per tonne.
Total traded volumes stood at 40,889 lots of 25 tonnes each, much higher than the usual 25,000 lots.
REGIONAL EQUITY- BANGKOK, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets ended mostly higher on Tuesday as steadier global stock markets bolstered bargain hunting in recently battered blue chips such as Indonesia's Astra International Tbk ASII.JK and Philippines' PLDT TEL.PS.
Jakarta's Composite Index .JKSE edged up 0.36 percent at 4,329.07, its all-time closing high. The biggest listed company Astra International rose 2.6 percent, halting a four-day fall.
The Philippine main index .PSI gained 0.31 percent to 5,399.94, the highest close in more than one week. Manila's biggest firm by value Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co TEL.PS rose 0.7 percent after Monday's 1 percent drop.
The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange's VN Index .VNI climbed nearly 2 percent to a one-month closing high of 399.22, with market sentiment lifted after Vietnam's ruling Communist Party promised economic reforms.
Investors preferred blue chips that are due to release good earnings in the coming reporting season, brokers said. In Bangkok, state run Krung Thai Bank Pcl KTB.BK rose 2.2 percent, outperforming the SET index .SETI which fell 0.2 percent.
Broker Phillip Securities said it expects Krung Thai Bank to post a July-September net profit of 7.26 billion baht ($236.67 million) versus last year's 5.5 billion baht.
