Trader's Highlight

DJI- NEW YORK, Sept 19 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday as investors dipped back into the market after the recent pullback from a rally that lifted the S&P 500 to just shy of five-year highs.

Housing stocks ranked among the day's leaders following stronger-than-expected data on home sales. The PHLX housing sector index jumped 2.2 percent, led by a 4.3 percent advance in PulteGroup the second-largest U.S. home builder, to $16.43.

U.S. home resales jumped 7.8 percent in August, the fastest in more than two years. Housing starts also rose, a hopeful sign that a budding housing market recovery is gaining traction.

The reports came as investors looked for improving economic data to help bolster a rally of 5.9 percent in the S&P 500 since the start of August.

"The recent pullback in prices was all about healthy profit-taking after the big rally we had last week," said Neil Massa, senior U.S. trader at MFC Global Investment Management, in Boston. "Now people are buying."

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 13.32 points, or 0.10 percent, to end at 13,577.96. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 1.73 points, or 0.12 percent, to finish at 1,461.05. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 4.82 points, or 0.15 percent, to close at 3,182.62.

After the bell, shares of railroad company Norfolk Southern Corp dropped 5.5 pct to $68.70 after it said weaker shipments of coal and merchandise as well as lower fuel- surcharge revenue would reduce its third-quarter earnings compared with a year earlier. The stock had ended regular trading at $72.69, down 1.7 percent.

Shares of Adobe Systems Inc, which makes Photoshop and Acrobat software, slipped 0.5 percent to $32.94 after the close, following the release of the company's results. Adobe shares ended regular trading at $33.12, up 1.7 percent.

Shares of U.S. home goods retailer Bed Bath & Beyond Inc fell 5.2 percent to $65.20 in after-hours trading. The retail chain's quarterly earnings, released after the close, narrowly missed Wall Street's estimates due to higher costs. In the regular session, the company's stock rose 0.6 percent to end at $68.79.

Last week, the S&P 500 reached its highest closing levels since December 2007 following a decision by the U.S. Federal Reserve to launch a new round of economic stimulus. The market pulled back or ended flat for two days, causing some investors to get back into stocks that had lost ground.

As of Friday, there were 88 major companies that have lowered their profit expectations, compared with 21 positive announcements. The ratio is the weakest showing since the third quarter of 2001, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Volume was slightly lower than average, with roughly 6.12 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and the Amex, compared with the year-to-date average daily closing volume of 6.54 billion.

Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by about 17 to 13. On the Nasdaq, the opposite trend prevailed, with about 13 stocks falling for every 12 that rose.

NYMEX- NEW YORK, Sept 19 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures fell for a third straight day on Wednesday, hit by expectations about Saudi Arabia's efforts to push prices lower and data showing U.S. crude inventories rose sharply last week.

U.S. crude oil stockpiles jumped 8.5 million barrels, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in a weekly report, far more than expected.

CBOT SOYBEAN-Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade closed higher on Wednesday, rebounding on bargain buying and short-covering after a three-day sell-off pushed the market to a one-month low, traders said.  

* Overall satisfactory weather is forecast for the harvest of U.S. corn and soybean crops. "There will be a few light rains but it looks pretty good for at least the next two weeks," said Andy Karst, meteorologist for World Weather Inc.

• Frost was noted early on Wednesday in the far northern portion of the crop region, causing minimal overall harm to some late-planted soybeans. Another round of frost was expected over the weekend in the northwest including the Dakotas, Minnesota, northern Iowa and Wisconsin.
• China will continue selling soybean reserves well into 2013 in a bid to contain food inflation and ease tight supplies caused by a historic drought across the U.S. grain belt, traders said.
• Basis bids for soybeans shipped by barge to the U.S. Gulf Coast were mostly steady to firm early on Wednesday, underpinned by improved export demand following a steep drop in futures prices, traders said. 

FCPO- KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures closed slightly lower on Wednesday, as last-minute selling on better-than-expected soybean yields in the United States offset gains boosted by expectations of strong export data.

Sentiment remains cautious after palm oil futures lost as much as 5.3 percent on Tuesday on reports that the U.S. Midwest soybean crop was not as badly damaged by drought as initially feared, and that the harvest was progressing fast. 

Palm oil can be used as a substitute for soyoil.

Crude palm oil was likely to find an initial support at 2,840 ringgit a tonne, said Ker Chung Yang, an analyst with Phillip Futures, but prices were likely to fall further in tandem with soybeans.

"We may see some short-covering which may extend for another day, but we need to understand that the weakness is likely to persist for crude palm oil," said Ker.

The benchmark December contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange fell 0.1 percent to close at 2,859 ringgit ($935). On Tuesday, prices touched a low of 2,827 ringgit, a level last seen on Aug. 15.ž

Total traded volume stood at 44,696 lots of 25 tonnes each, much higher than the usual 25,000 tonnes.

Technicals showed Malaysian palm oil likely to retest a support level at 2,832 ringgit per tonne, driven by a downward wave capable of travelling to 2,719 ringgit per tonne, Reuters market analyst Wang Tao said. 

Cargo surveyors Intertek Testing Services and Societe Generale de Surveillance will announce on Thursday palm oil exports for the first 25 days of the month, but the expected sales hike may not be enough to calm worries about rising inventories.

"The export numbers are likely to continue to be impressive, but we need to understand that the sharp gain is due to the low base from the previous month," said Ker.

Exports for the first half of September rose 12 percent from a month ago, cargo surveyor data showed on Tuesday. 

In a bullish sign for palm oil, Brent crude oil prices rose on Wednesday after Japan's central bank became the latest country to further open the monetary taps to help stimulate its economy. 

In other vegetable oil markets, U.S. soyoil for December delivery rose 0.4 percent. The most active January 2013 soyoil contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange closed 0.3 percent higher, recovering from previous day's near 1-month low.

REGIONAL EQUITY- BANGKOK, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets ended mostly higher on Wednesday as the Bank of Japan's easing monetary policy announcement helped lift sentiment and a strong global oil market triggered bargain hunting in recently-battered commodity shares.

Thailand's benchmark SET index was the region's best performer on the day, rising 1 percent to its highest close since June 1996. Among the actively traded stocks, refiner IRPC jumped 4.2 percent on good earnings outlook, traders said.

Jakarta's Composite Index gained 0.5 percent on profit-taking. Coal miners led among the gainers with Harum Energy  up 3.2 percent and Bumi Resources adding 4.8 percent.

Bucking the trend, the Philippines' benchmark index fell for a second session, edging down 0.3 percent. However, it is still up 21.6 percent so far this year, the region's second best performer.