Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, Dec 14 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks cut gains to end mostly flat after a late-day sell-off on Tuesday as yet another cautious statement from the Federal Reserve on the economy offset strong retail sales data for November.

With trading volume still anemic, the afternoon's drop could be a sign that the major indexes have hit the upper range of a rally that has propelled them all to recent two-year highs.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was up 47.98 points, or 0.42 percent, at 11,476.62. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was up 1.13 points, or 0.09 percent, at 1,241.59. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was up 2.81 points, or 0.11 percent, at 2,627.72.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, Dec 14 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures ended lower on Tuesday after Federal Reserve policy makers said the economic recovery remained too slow to bring down unemployment and it would continue its program to buy government bonds to stimulate the economy.

The Fed's view of the economy helped extend crude oil's losses late in the session, outweighing support from positive U.S. economic reports and cold weather.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude for January delivery settled down 33 cents, or 0.37 percent, at $88.28, trading from $87.74 to $88.95.

CBOT-CHICAGO, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade grain and soy complex closing trends on Tuesday.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - January down 6-1/2 cents at $12.96 per bushel. Market closes lower as dollar firms and crude oil prices weaken throughout the trading day.

CBOT-SOYOIL - January down 0.28 cent at 55.17 cents per lb. December soyoil expired quietly at 54.80 cents per lb, down 0.30 cent.

FCPO-KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures hit more than two-and-a-half-year highs on Tuesday amid firmer soyoil in China and worries over weaker production in the monsoon season, before paring some gains to settle 1 percent lower.

The benchmark Malaysian palm oil contract fell 42 ringgit to 3,680 ringgit ($1,171.975)on profit taking after touching an intraday high of 3,766 ringgit. Overall traded volume more than doubled to 24,180 lots of 25 tonnes each.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-COLOMBO, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Philippine stocks rose on Tuesday, led by energy shares, but other Southeast Asian markets closed flat, with few investors inclined to alter portfolios much at this stage of the year.

The Philippines <.PSI>, the region's third-best performer this year, rose 0.8 percent, snapping three straight falls in which the bourse lost 2.5 percent.

Singapore <.FTSTI> ended down 0.2 percent in light trading, Vietnam <.VNI> edged down 0.1 percent in the highest volume in a year, while Malaysia <.KLSE> closed flat.

In Singapore, the market edged down but smaller-cap companies, in particular Singapore-listed China shares, or S-chips, outperformed their larger peers after strong Chinese retail sales data and the absence of any interest rate rise.