Palm | Kelapa Sawit

DJI-NEW YORK, June 2 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rallied more than 2 percent on Wednesday as energy shares rebounded one day after a steep sell-off, while the yen fell after the resignation of Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama raised concerns about the outlook for the currency.

Surprisingly strong U.S. housing data for April drove optimism about the economy, also boosting stocks and driving up oil prices. The stock rally also eased concerns that Europe's sovereign debt crisis could restrain a fragile economic recovery.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> closed up 225.52 points, or 2.25 percent, at 10,249.54. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> rose 27.67 points, or 2.58 percent, at 1,098.38. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> gained 58.74 points, or 2.64percent, at 2,281.07

NYMEX-NEW YORK, June 2 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures settled higher on Wednesday, supported by strong U.S. pending home sales that also lifted Wall Street equities.

Crude oil futures traded inside Tuesday's range and for a second straight day finished well below the intraday high amid choppy trading ahead of the week's oil inventory reports.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, July crude rose 28 cents, or 0.39 percent, to settle at $72.86 a barrel, trading from $71.68 to $73.93. Tuesday's trading ranged from $71.64 to $75.33.

CBOT-CHICAGO, June 2 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade grain and soy complex closing trends on Wednesday.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - July up 1/2 cent at $9.32-1/2 a bushel; new-crop November up 3/4 at $9.03-1/2. Tight cash markets and rally in crude oil support soybeans, offsetting pressure from favorable U.S. crop weather and planting progress.

CBOT-SOYOIL - July down 0.10 cent at 37.42 cents per lb. Late retreat; losing against soymeal on meal/oil spreads.

FCPO-JAKARTA, June 2 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures extended gains for a second day on Wednesday as firmer prices for rival soyoil sparked some short covering, traders said.

The benchmark August crude palm oil futures on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose 0.33 percent, or 8 ringgit, to settle at 2,468 ringgit ($745.6) a tonne -- the highest close since May 24. Overall traded volume was 15,499 lots of 25 tonnes each, above the daily average of 10,000 lots.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, June 2 (Reuters) - Thai stocks gained over 1 percent on Wednesday after the Bank of Thailand decided to keep interest rates unchanged, which had been widely expected after recent political unrest but still spurred late buying, analysts said.

Southeast Asian bourses ended off their day's highs, with Singapore <.FTSTI> up 0.5 percent, Indonesia <.JKSE>, Asia's second-best performer this year, up 0.33 percent, the Philippines <.PSI> up 0.7 percent and Vietnam <.VNI> adding 0.4 percent.

Bucking the trend, Malaysia <.KLSE> drifted down 0.5 percent in thin volume, led by a 1.8 percent fall in top lender Maybank .

In Singapore, Mapletree Logistics Trust rose 3.1 percent to S$0.835. Broker Citi said it raised Mapletree's target price to S$0.91 and kept its 'buy/low risk' rating, citing its growth strategy as it was acquiring three properties.