Palm | Kelapa Sawit

DJI-NEW YORK, Oct 18 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks surged late in trading on Tuesday as buyers latched onto another report of agreements to strengthen the euro zone's rescue fund to bid up stocks aggressively.

All three major indexes rose sharply after a Britain's Guardian newspaper said France and Germany will increase the euro zone's rescue fund to 2 trillion euros as part of a plan to resolve the sovereign debt crisis.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> ended up 180.05 points, or 1.58 percent, at 11,577.05. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was up 24.52 points, or 2.04 percent, at 1,225.38. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was up 42.51 points, or 1.63percent, at 2,657.43.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, Oct 18 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures gained more than 2 percent on Tuesday, rebounding sharply from Monday's loss, as Wall Street rose on bank earnings, that overshadowed slower Chinese growth and Europe's debt troubles.

In early trade, prices fell as China's third quarter growth rate came in as the slowest pace in two years and Moody's warned it may slap a negative outlook on France's triple-A credit rating.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude for November delivery settled at $88.34 a barrel, gaining $1.96, or 2.27 percent, after trading between $85.55 and $88.61. The contract expires on Thursday.

CBOT-SOYBEANS-Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade ended modestly lower on renewed concerns about the global economy, a lack of fresh demand news and favorable soy planting weather in South America, traders said.

Growth in top soy buyer China slowed in the third quarter to its weakest pace since early 2009.

FCPO-KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures dropped to their lowest in a week on Tuesday as Europe's debt problems continue to fester and China reported slightly slower economic growth, raising concerns of slower commodity demand.

The market extended losses for a second day after Germany's finance minister cautioned on Monday that a definitive solution would not be reached at the Oct. 23 European union summit and Moody's warned France of a negative outlook.

Benchmark January palm oil futures on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange settled down 1.4 percent to 2,835 ringgit ($919). Earlier in the session, the contract dropped to 2,817 ringgit -- the lowest since Oct. 11.

Traded volumes stood at 26,981 lots of 25 tonnes each, compared to the usual 25,000 lots.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets pulled back on Tuesday as big caps and commodity stocks gave up recent gains on concern about prospects for Europe to contain its debt crisis and a slowdown in Chinese growth.

The selling that ended the region's rally of the past week came in light trading volume. Short-term traders and trading portfolios that dominated recent buying appeared to cash in quick gains, traders said.

Stocks in Singapore <.FTSTI>, Thailand <.SETI> and Malaysia <.KLSE> each fell almost 2 percent on Tuesday while the Philippines <.PSI> and Vietnam <.VNI> were down more than one percent.

Among actively traded stocks, Singapore's oil rig maker Keppel Corp Ltd fell 4.4 percent, one of the hardest hit in the Straits Times Index, as investors took profit from cyclical stocks that were more volatile and oil prices fell.