Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, Dec 17 (Reuters) - The S&P clung to a two-year high on Friday as investors predicted a pause as volumes are expected to dry up in the days ahead, and after a 5 percent gain already so far in December.

The last two weeks of the year are traditionally quiet, and therefore market moves are less meaningful to the overall trend, which took the S&P 500 to a two-year high early this week.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> dropped 7.34 points, or 0.06 percent, to 11,491.91. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> gained 1.03 points, or 0.08 percent, to 1,243.90. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> rose 5.66 points, or 0.21 percent, to 2,642.97.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, Dec 17 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures ended the week higher on Friday on economic optimism after two closely watched indicators showed that the recovery was gathering steam, outweighing concerns about euro zone fiscal troubles.

Passage in the U.S. Congress of a tax cut bill late Thursday was supportive for the energy markets as it would put more money into consumers' pockets and that was seen boding well for oil demand, analysts and traders said.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, January crude settled up 32 cents, or 0.36 percent, at $88.02 a barrel, trading from $87.01 to $88.52.

CBOT- Chicago, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade grain and soy closing trends on Friday.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - January up 9-3/4 cents at $12.98-3/4 per bushel; new-crop November up 16-3/4 at $12.29-3/4.

CBOT-SOYOIL - January up 0.06 cent at 54.13 cents per lb.

FCPO-KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures dropped to a two-week low on Friday as market players squared positions on worries over weak overseas demand ahead of export data early next week.

Benchmark March 2011 crude palm oil futures on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives fell 2.2 percent to 3,503 ringgit ($1,143.631) a tonne after going as low as 3,471 ringgit -- a level unseen since December 1.

REGIONAL EQUITIES- COLOMBO, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets edged up on Friday in thin volume, helped by better economic news from the United States, but concerns about the global economy still left most of the indexes down on the week.

Indonesia <.JKSE>, the region's best performer with a 41.3 percent rise this year, lost 4.4 percent this week. Vietnam <.VNI>, the region's worst performer in 2010, outperformed on the week with a 2.6 percent gain.

However, on Friday the mood brightened after an unexpected rise in factory activity in the U.S. mid-Atlantic region, a dip in jobless claims for the second week plus a rise in housing starts.

On Friday, Jakarta gained 0.3 percent, the Philippines <.PSI> closed 0.4 percent firmer and Malaysia <.KLSE> rose 0.2 percent. Vietnam jumped 1.1 percent and Singapore <.FTSTI> 0.2 percent.