Trader's highlight

DJI - NEW YORK, May 14 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rallied to fresh highs on Tuesday as investors picked up large-cap companies' shares on the expectation that central bank stimulus will help propel the rally further.

Gains were broad, but growth sectors outperformed their peers with bank stocks leading the way. Bank of America , up 2.8 percent at $13.34, was the Dow's biggest percentage gainer, while Citigroup Inc rose 2.4 percent to $50.09.

Wall Street has rallied without a significant correction since the start of the year, pushing major indexes to all-time records and sending the S&P 500 up almost 16 percent for 2013 so far.

The ascent has been driven in large part by the Federal Reserve's easy monetary policy, designed to stimulate the economy, though investors' focus has turned to when the Fed may start to rein in its bond-purchase program.

"The developed economies of the world are all easing aggressively, the money is looking for a home, and it's ending up in the stock markets," said Bucky Hellwig, senior vice president at BB&T Wealth Management in Birmingham, Alabama.

For now, investors are betting that the central bank will be careful not to remove its support too soon in order to not disrupt the economic recovery it is trying to foster, Hellwig said.

So far, declines in the market have been met with buying and investors are trying to gauge how long that can last.

"People are indeed trying to participate in the rally, but at the same time, they're trying to be cautious," said Brad McMillan, chief investment officer of Commonwealth Financial, based in Waltham, Massachusetts.

The S&P 500 financial sector index rose 1.7 percent, while the S&P transports group index gained 1.4 pct.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 123.57 points, or 0.82 percent, to close at a record 15,215.25. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 16.57 points, or 1.01 percent, to end at a record 1,650.34. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 23.82 points, or 0.69 percent, to 3,462.61, its highest close since November 2000.

Oils - NEW YORK, May 14 (Reuters) - Brent crude oil prices fell on Tuesday after a global energy watchdog described world supplies as "comfortable" and analysts forecast a continued build in the U.S. 

crude inventory, while gasoline rose 1 percent on expected inventory draws ahead of the summer driving season.

U.S. crude prices tumbled further late in the trading session, following news that an outage on TransCanada's 590,000-barrel-per-day Keystone oil pipeline would be resolved by Tuesday.

Earlier in the session, strong U.S. equity markets helped support U.S. crude.

U.S. crude's slide allowed Brent to regain some of its premium to the U.S. crude oil after it had earlier narrowed to the lowest level since 2011.

Brent crude oil fell 22 cents to settle at $102.60 per barrel, after trading largely within a $1 range. U.S. crude settled down 96 cents at $94.21 per barrel.

CBOT Soybean - May 14 (Reuters) - Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade ended mixed on Tuesday, with most-active July lower on profit-taking after rising to a six-week high, traders said.

• The spot May contract  expired at $15.24-1/2 per bushel, up 3-1/2 cents on the day, after reaching $15.45, the highest spot price on continuous charts since Nov. 2.

• CBOT has reported no deliveries of soybeans or soymeal so far in the May delivery cycle, underscoring tight supplies and firm cash markets.

• After CBOT May contracts expired, traders took profits on long July/short November soybean positions.

• Drier weather early this week in the U.S. Midwest will boost plantings before more showers develop late on Wednesday and continue into the weekend, with the heaviest rain in the northern Midwest.

• The National Oilseed Processors Association's monthly soybean crush data on Wednesday should show the U.S. crush for April at 125.5 million bushels, a poll of eight analysts projected, down from NOPA's March crush of 137.080 million bushels.

• The average of analysts' estimates for NOPA's April U.S. soyoil stocks figure was 2.653 billion lbs, down from NOPA's March figure of 2.765 billion.

• Chinese soybean production will drop 3.9 percent this year in its third straight annual fall, boosting imports by the world's top buyer, an official think tank said.

• Major soy importers will rely on increasing volumes from South America in the next six months as exports from the United States slow because of lower stocks, oilseed analyst Oil World said. A northern stretch of the Illinois River that has been closed since Saturday for emergency lock repairs may reopen to commercial navigation as soon as Tuesday evening, the U.S. Coast Guard and Army Corps of Engineers said.

BMD CPO - SINGAPORE, May 14 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures edged lower on Tuesday, dropping for a second straight session as worries about weak exports and a firm ringgit kept investors on the sidelines.

Malaysian palm oil exports fell 16.7 percent in the first 10 days of the month from the same period a month ago, weighed by slowing demand from Europe and China, said cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services.

Another surveyor Societe Generale de Surveillance reported a steeper 18.4 percent drop.

"There are two main reasons the market is down today: a strong ringgit and the weak exports figure. Support level is at 2,280 ringgit," said a trader with a foreign commodities brokerage in Kuala Lumpur.

A firmer ringgit , which rose about 0.3 percent against the dollar on Tuesday, makes the feedstock more expensive for overseas buyers and refiners.

At market close, the benchmark July contract  on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was down 0.4 percent at 2,301 ringgit ($770) per tonne, after trading between 2,291 and 2,327 ringgit.

Total traded volumes stood at 26,482 lots of 25 tonnes each, lower than the average 35,000 lots.

Malaysian palm oil stocks eased 11.3 percent in April, due to a combination of stagnant production growth and higher-than-expected exports and local consumption.

The market is now waiting for Malaysia's palm exports data for the May 1-15 period due Wednesday to gauge demand.

India's palm oil imports declined for a third straight month in April, Mumbai trade body the Solvent Extractors' Association said on Tuesday, as refiners in the world's biggest buyer used stocks and processed the new rapeseed harvest.

In other markets, Brent crude slipped below $103 per barrel on Tuesday, caught between hopes of a revival in global economic growth and worries over demand after bearish reports from the West's energy watchdog.

In vegetable oil markets, U.S. soyoil for July delivery fell 0.3 percent in late Asian trade. The most-active September soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange closed 0.1 percent lower.