DJI- NEW YORK, July 19 (Reuters) - Global shares climbed to two-week highs on Thursday as strong corporate earnings offset weak U.S. economic data but concerns about Spain's financial troubles drove the euro broadly lower.
Commodities rallied, with oil prices hitting eight-week highs as Middle East tension stoked supply concern. Corn and soybeans soared to record highs after a worsening U.S. farm-belt drought raised fears about a possible food crisis.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 index rallied to a fresh 2-1/2-month peak, lifted by a strong full-year outlook from IBM IBM.N, bullish earnings from eBay EBAY.O and Qualcomm's QCOM.O expectations for a strong December quarter. European equities hit four-month highs also on strong corporate results.
The positive sentiment was tempered, however, by weaker-than-expected readings on U.S. manufacturing, housing and labor markets. Adding to investor concern was a spike in Spain's borrowing costs, which intensified fears Madrid may eventually need a full-blown sovereign bailout.
"It is baked into stock prices that growth is going to be slow for a little while," said Giri Cherukuri, head trader at OakBrook Investments in Lisle, Illinois.
"People are focusing on individual stocks after earnings and trying to figure out (through) outlooks how weak the economy really is," he said.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI ended up 34.66 points, or 0.27 percent, at 12,943.36. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX closed up 3.73 points, or 0.27 percent, at 1,376.51. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC rose 23.30 points, or 0.79 percent, to 2,965.90.
NYMEX- NEW YORK, July 19 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures rose 3 percent on Thursday, up for a seventh straight session and reaching an eight-week peak, as Middle East tensions reinforced concern about potential supply disruptions and strong corporate earnings lifted investor optimism.
CBOT SOYBEAN- * Spot soybean futures rose to a record high $17.49, above the previous record of $16.85-1/2 set on Wednesday and up 33 percent in only six weeks.
• Midday weather updates indicate little change in outlooks for a continued spread of the worst drought in a half century through most of the U.S. Midwest crop region for at least the next 10 days, meteorologists said on Thursday.
• "Only minor changes for next week. There is a reduction of rain and warmer for the northern Plains for the 29th and 30th but that's pretty far out, we're taking out rains for the end of the month," said Andy Karst, meteorologist for World Weather Inc. "It's not a better forecast for crops," he said.
• Hotter-than-normal temperatures are expected through October over most of the contiguous 48 U.S. states, with below-average precipitation for Midwest areas already hit by the worst drought in a half century, government forecasters said on Thursday.
FCPO- SINGAPORE, July 19 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures rebounded from a 3-week low on Thursday, as the worst drought in the United States since 1956 threatened to squeeze global oilseed supplies further and offset slower exports and better output in Malaysia.
Oppressive heat and a worsening drought in the U.S. Midwest pushed grain prices near or beyond records this week and raised concerns of a smaller supply of soybean oil, shifting more demand to the cheaper palm oil.
"The market is staged for a rebound as drought concerns are revived. Also, palm oil is now at a discount of over $260 to soyoil, and that will attract arbitrage activity to narrow the spread," said a dealer with a foreign commodities brokerage in Malaysia.
The benchmark October palm oil futures FCPOc3 on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 1.7 percent to close at 3,045 ringgit ($966) per tonne after touching a low of 2,986 ringgit, a level unseen since June 28.
Traded volumes stood at 31,771 lots of 25 tonnes each, higher than the usual 25,000 lots.
REGIONAL EQUITY- July 19 (Reuters) - Singapore stock market rose to a near one-year closing high on Thursday, helped by improved investor sentiment after strong corporate earnings from U.S. bellweathers such as Intel Corp INTC.O, while Southeast Asia's other markets ended mixed.
Singapore .FTSTI ended 0.4 percent up led by property developer City Developments Ltd's CTDM.SI 1.6 percent gains and Vietnam .VNI, the region's smallest bourse, jumped 2.3 percent to a four-week high in heavy volumes, also on hopes of strong quarterly earnings.
Groundbreaking on new U.S. homes rose in June to its fastest pace in over three years supported the market, after a series of recent reports had pointed to worrying signs that the economy was cooling.
Indonesia .JKSE gained 0.4 percent to its highest since May 11, helped by a foreign inflow of $42.7 million while Malaysia .KLSE ended flat amid foreign investors buying $23.67 million in equity.
Thailand .SETI fell 0.6 percent, dragged down by telecom shares on concerns over a possible fresh tax on telecom operators with the biggest operator Advanced Info Service ADVA.BK and Total Access Communication DTAC.BK falling 3.5 percent and 3.4 percent respectively.
