Palm | Kelapa Sawit

DJI-NEW YORK, Oct 20 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks and the euro rose on Thursday after France and Germany said they would press ahead to solve the euro zone debt crisis, despite setbacks that meant the details might not be settled at a weekend European Union summit.

France and Germany confirmed in a joint statement that euro zone leaders will discuss a solution at the summit on Sunday.

At the close, the Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was up 37.16 points, or 0.32 percent, at 11,541.78. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was up 5.51 points, or 0.46 percent, at 1,215.39. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was down 5.42 points, or 0.21 percent, at 2,598.62.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, Oct 20 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures ended lower for a second day on Thursday, pressured by liquidations ahead of the front-month November crude contract's expiration and economic data pointing to slow growth.

Existing home sales fell in September, but initial jobless claims declined last week while mid-Atlantic factory activity rebounded in October, economic data showed.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, the November crude contract expired and settled at $85.30 a barrel, down 81 cents, or 0.94 percent, after trading from $84.10 to $86.94.

CBOT-SOYBEANS-Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade fell for a fourth straight day on the unwinding of long soy/short corn spreads and disappointing weekly U.S. export sales, traders said.

The spot CBOT soybean/corn spread rose 71-1/2 cents per bushel last week, with soy outgaining corn, but has given back about 58 cents since then as traders booked profits.

FCPO-KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures dropped on Thursday as investors' avoided risky assets on concerns that a key European leaders' summit may not reach a consensus on the debt crisis in the region.

Losses, however, were limited as market players came back later in the session as the market was seen as oversold.

Palm oil prices have see-sawed for this week on conflicting reports over European governments reaching a deal to contain the crisis and recapitalise banks in the region.

Benchmark January palm oil futures on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange settled down 0.9 percent at 2,866 Malaysian ringgit ($923). The contract earlier fell to an intra-day low of 2,822 ringgit, coming close to a one-week low hit on Tuesday.

Traded volumes stood at 31 lots of 25 tonnes each, compared to the usual 12,500 lots as more market players returned to take up positions.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets fell on Thursday as investors cut exposures to riskier assets across the board ahead of a key European leaders' summit on Sunday, with flood concerns sending Thai stocks to their lowest in almost two weeks.

The region has been choppy this week with jitters over the progress of European efforts to avoid sovereign debt defaults. Market players appeared wary of news flows about euro zone debts and booked quick gains, but most stayed on the sidelines.

Singapore <.FTSTI> fell nearly 1 percent and Malaysia <.KLSE> eased 0.6 percent, both to around one-week lows. Indonesia <.JKSE> and the Philippines <.PSI> snapped Wednesday's rebounds, ending down 1.7 percent and 0.6 percent respectively.