Palm | Kelapa Sawit

DJI - NEW YORK, March 13 - U.S. stocks scored their best week since November on Friday as a broker upgraded Merck & Co, saying its deal to buy a rival was shrewd, and
Citigroup said it did not need any more government aid.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 53.92 points, or 0.75 percent, to 7,223.98. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index climbed 5.81 points, or 0.77 percent, to 756.55. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 5.40 points, or 0.38 percent, to 1,431.50.

NYMEX - NEW YORK, March 13 - U.S. crude futures fell back in choppy trading on Friday on weak demand forecasts from OPEC and the International Energy Agency amid caution ahead of a possible output cut when the producers' group meets Sunday.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, April crude settled down 78 cents, or 1.66 percent, at $46.25 a barrel, trading from $45.77 to $48.14. For the week, prices are down 73 cents, or 1.6 percent.

CBOT - SOYBEANS - March expired down 16-1/2 at $8.82-1/2 per bushel; May down 5-1/2 at $8.76-1/2. Dives after Thursday's strong rally amid Informa's big U.S. soy planting forecast. March under added pressure as longs liquidate positions before midday expiration.

CBOT - SOYOIL - March expired down 0.31 cent at 29.80 cents per lb; May down 0.21 at 30.17. Following soy.

FCPO - JAKARTA, March 13 - Malaysian crude palm oil futures rose on Friday, recovering most of their 3 percent fall from a day earlier, helped by tightness in the physical market, traders said.

The benchmark May contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose 52 ringgit, or 2.7 percent, to 1,972 ringgit ($532) per tonne.

REGIONAL EQUITIES - BANGKOK, March 13 - Singapore shares surged 5.6 percent to a 2-week high on Friday, leading other Southeast Asian stock indices higher as an improving outlook for big U.S. banks boosted regional financial stocks.

Singapore's Straits Times Index closed at its highest level since Feb. 27, with DBS Group , United Overseas Bank and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp each up more than 7 percent.

Malaysia's index rose 0.6 percent after four days of falls. Thailand's SET Index jumped 2.4 percent, while Indonesia's market rose 1.3 percent to its highest level since Feb. 19.