Palm | Kelapa Sawit

DJI-NEW YORK, Feb 26 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Friday, capping their best monthly advance since November as data showed the economy grew a tad better than expected in the fourth quarter.

On a day marked by light volume as Wall Street was buried in a snowstorm, the falling dollar also boosted the shares of exporters, who benefit from a weaker greenback.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, Feb 26 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures ended nearly 2 percent higher on Friday, rebounding from sharp losses in the previous session, as the dollar's weakness and brighter U.S. economic data combined to attract buying.

Gasoline and heating oil futures also bounced back, amid volatile trading, as their front-month March contracts expired at the close, the last trading day of the month.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, April crude settled up $1.49, or 1.91 percent, at $79.66 a barrel, trading from $77.82 to $80.05.

CBOT-CHICAGO, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade grains and soy complex close on on Friday.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - March up 9-1/2 cents at $9.51 a bushel. Short-covering bounce after Thursday's fall to one-week lows. Weak dollar and higher crude oil prices add support.

CBOT-SOYOIL - March up 0.76 cent at 39.29 cents per lb. Following firm trend in soybeans and crude oil; weak dollar adding support.

FCPO-JAKARTA, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Malaysia's palm oil futures edged up 0.2 percent on Thursday in choppy trade as a rebound in crude oil prompted short-covering late in the day, traders said.

The market ignored reports of an drop in exports of between 8.9 percent and 10.2 percent in the first 25 days of February as estimated by cargo surveyors as they believed that it would not prevent a further reduction in palm oil stocks, which will be driven by lower output.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets
rose on Friday, with Singapore eking out slim gains after industrial output data and Thailand gaining even as judges read their verdict in a case that may raise the political temperature.

Markets in the region were range-bound as weak U.S. jobless and manufacturing data drove fears the global economic recovery is on shaky ground, amid continuing worries about Greece's debt.

Singapore's index <.FTSTI> ended up 0.06 percent, reversing a 1.2 percent fall in the past two sessions as industrial output for January rose 39.4 percent from a year before.

Malaysia and Indonesia were closed for a market holiday on Friday. Thailand will be closed on Monday.