Palm | Kelapa Sawit

DJI-NEW YORK, Oct 22 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks capped a third straight week of gains on Friday as encouraging earnings helped the market sustain upward momentum, led by Baidu Inc , the latest tech company to beat estimates.

The market has defied expectations for a pullback following a strong rally prior to the earnings season. Some investors were expecting the results to provide an excuse for broad profit-taking.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> dropped 14.01 points, or 0.13 percent, to 11,132.56. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> gained 2.82 points, or 0.24 percent, to 1,183.08. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> gained 19.72 points, or 0.80 percent, to 2,479.39.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, Oct 22 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures ended more than 1 percent higher on Friday, on late short-covering ahead of the weekend and positive German business sentiment data lifting prices, as the dollar index seesawed ahead of a G20 finance ministers' decision on currencies.

Strikes in France over pension reform that passed the French senate late in the day remained supportive, analysts said. The strike included walkouts in French refineries and a key oil port.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude for December delivery settled at $81.69 a barrel, up $1.13, or 1.4 percent. It traded from $80.41 to $81.78, an "inside" day, in which the day's high and low are within the previous day's range. It followed a 2 percent price slump on Thursday.

CBOT-CHICAGO, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade grain and soy complex futures close on Friday.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - November down 2 cents at $11.99-1/2 per bushel; January down 1-1/2 at $12.11-1/2. Pre-weekend profit-taking and consolidation weighed on the market with light fund selling adding pressure. November options expired on Friday and November futures settled near the $12-per-bushel options strike price.

CBOT-SOYOIL - December up 0.06 cent at 48.30 cents per lb.

FCPO-KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Global vegetable oils stayed just below their two year highs on Friday as traders awaited more signs of continued demand from China for agriculture commodities and a stronger crude oil market.

China, over the past week, purchased large quantities of soybeans to satisfy strong cooking oil and animal feed demand -- helping boost vegetable oil markets.

The rally was also supported by a general weakness in the U.S. dollar, making palm oil, soybeans and soyoil cargoes priced in that currency cheaper.

The benchmark January 2011 crude palm oil on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange ended 0.6 percent higher at 3,007 ringgit ($968.7) -- hovering below a more than two-year high of 3,021 ringgit hit the previous day.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets posted small gains on Friday, with foreign buying helping push Philippine shares to a record high, amid optimism about profits as the earnings season gets under way.

Share markets pulled back on the week, however, failing to pass multi-year highs set the week before, and dealers said investors were waiting for details of a second round of quantitative easing in the United States, probably in November.

Singapore <.FTSTI> hovered below a 29-month high, Malaysia <.KLSE> came off a 33-month high and Indonesia <.JKSE> moved below a record high, while Thailand <.SETI> failed to get past the 1,000 mark, which was within sight last week for the first time since the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis.