DJI- NEW YORK, Aug 24 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks climbed on Friday on news the European Central Bank is considering setting targets in a new bond-buying program that could help contain euro-zone borrowing costs and on hopes of more stimulus from the Federal Reserve.
Despite the day's advance, the S&P 500 broke a six-week string of gains. For the week, the benchmark index fell 0.5 percent. Conflicting perceptions of the Fed's commitment to provide more stimulus took a toll on the market this week.
Investor sentiment received a lift on Friday from U.S. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, who said the Fed has room to deliver additional monetary stimulus to boost the U.S. economy. Bernanke made the comment in a letter to a congressional oversight panel. (Full Story)
The letter comes a week ahead of the annual economic symposium at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where Bernanke and ECB President Mario Draghi will speak.
The ECB is discussing yield-band targets under a new bond-buying program to let it shield its strategy and avoid speculators trying to cash in, central bank sources told Reuters on Friday. Any decision would not be made before the ECB's Sept. 6 policy meeting. (Full Story)
"If there can be a nice balance of stimulus that keeps interest rates low, as opposed to throwing more debt at the problems in Europe, and some level of austerity, Europe can get out of this tangle. But that balance is really the key," said Bryant Evans, investment advisor and portfolio manager at Cozad Asset Management, in Champaign, Illinois.
The market's gains were fairly broad. The S&P financial index .GSPF rose 0.6 percent, with shares of American Express AXP.N up 1.9 percent at $57.49. The S&P consumer discretionary index .GSPD climbed 0.8 percent, with shares of Amazon.com AMZN.O up 1.9 percent at $245.74. During the session, Amazon's stock hit a lifetime intraday high of $246.87.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 100.51 points, or 0.77 percent, to end at 13,157.97. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX added 9.05 points, or 0.65 percent, to 1,411.13. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC gained 16.39 points, or 0.54 percent, to close at 3,069.79.
Volume was the second lowest for a full day this year, with 4.6 billion shares trading on the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and the Amex. The year-to-date average is 6.6 billion.
NYMEX- NEW YORK, Aug 24 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures ended lower on Friday following a trade journal report that the International Energy Agency may release strategic oil reserves as early as September after dropping its resistance to a U.S.-led plan.
CBOT SOYBEAN- New-crop soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade rose 1 percent, halting a two-day slide on concerns about tightening U.S. supplies and unrelenting demand from exporters and domestic processors, traders said.
FCPO- KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures edged higher on Friday, rising 3.6 percent in a second straight weekly gain as global oilseed supply fears and rising export demand supported prices.
* The United States is the world's primary soy supplier until the next South American harvest arrives in early 2013.
• After the CBOT close, newsletter Pro Farmer projected U.S. 2012 soybean production at 2.6 billion bushels, below the USDA's outlook for 2.692 billion, following a week-long crop tour. (Full Story)
• Traders were also monitoring Typhoon Bolaven, which is forecast to reach mainland China by the middle of next week, potentially threatening the country's soybean and corn crops.
• Benchmark CBOT November soybeans SX2 ended the week up more than 5 percent, the contract's fourth straight weekly rise and the ninth in 10 weeks as the worst drought in five decades scorched U.S. Midwest crops.
• Gains limited by softening cash bids for soybeans in the interior Midwest and the U.S. Gulf following a pick-up in farmer sales this week. (Full Story) (Full Story)
• Brazilian grain industry association Abiove projected Brazil's 2012/13 soybean production at a record 81.3 million tonnes, possibly surpassing output from the United States. (Full Story)
• After a dry August, El Nino rains could jump-start a bumper grain crop in Brazil, the world's No. 2 soybean producer, and ease fears of a global food shortage. (Full Story)
A crop tour continued to give evidence of the devastation caused by the U.S. grain belt's worst drought in half a century, which has lifted soybean prices to all-time highs in recent weeks. Fears of tighter soybean oil supply have spurred a shift in vegetable oil demand to the cheaper palm oil. (Full Story)
Corn and soy fields in Iowa, the No.1 growing state for both crops, have fallen victim to the historic drought, which is expected to drag national yields below the government's latest projections, according to the Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour.
"The market is trying to catch up with soyoil, especially as its premium over palm oil is at more than $250 per tonne," said a trader with a foreign commodities brokerage in Malaysia.
"Exports should improve further. The market has further room to move higher, it is still trading in a tight range of 3,050-3,100 ringgit."
The benchmark November 2012 contract FCPOc3 on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 0.3 percent to close at 3,069 ringgit ($990) per tonne. Prices hit a high of 3,100 ringgit on Thursday, a level last seen on July 17.
Futures notched up a gain of 3.6 percent this week, the best weekly performance since July.
Total traded volumes stood at 26,872 lots of 25 tonnes each, slightly higher than the usual 25,000 lots.
REGIONAL EQUITY- BANGKOK, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock indexes ended lower on Friday as doubts about possible stimulus by the U.S. Federal Reserve prompted a broad sell-off, while Vietnam snapped a three-day losing streak as support from regulators eased concerns of banking risks.
The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange's VN Index .VNI advanced 1.8 percent, regaining some lost ground from a drop of 10.5 percent over the past three sessions after police arrested the former chief executive officer of Asia Commercial Bank ACB.HN.
Some Vietnamese banking shares rebounded after investor confidence has been restored, with stocks of Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank STB.HM, among actively traded issue on the Ho Chi Minh bourse, up 2.03 percent.
Vietnam's key stock index posted its biggest weekly fall in over three months of 7.8 percent, the worst performer in the region. The Philippine index .PSI was the second worst, falling 1.2 percent on the week.
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