Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, Jan 25 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks erased losses in a late flurry of buying to end little changed on Tuesday as overall optimism about earnings offset disappointing results from blue chips 3M and Johnson & Johnson.

About 70 percent of S&P companies so far have beaten estimates, but worries about inflation cutting into profits have caused investors to jump on shares of companies that only produce spectacular results.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> finished down 3.33 points, or 0.03 percent, at 11,977.19. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was up 0.34 point, or 0.03 percent, at 1,291.18. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was up 1.70 points, or 0.06 percent, at 2,719.25.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, Jan 25 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures ended lower for a sixth day on Tuesday as a surprise dip in Britain's fourth-quarter economic growth and India's move to raise interest rates raised fresh worries about global economic recovery.

Forecasts that weekly U.S. petroleum inventory reports will show a second consecutive week of an increase in domestic crude inventories also kept investors edgy.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude for March delivery settled down $1.68, or 1.91 percent, at $86.19 a barrel, after trading between $86.12, the lowest since Dec.1, and $87.85.

CBOT-CHICAGO, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade grain and soy complex close on Tuesday.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - March down 30 cents at $13.74-1/2 per bushel. Fell to a two-week low on widespread sell-off of commodities as India raised interest rates to slow inflation.

CBOT-SOYOIL - March down 1.40 cents at 55.78 cents per lb. Following soybeans.

FCPO-KUALA LUMPUR Jan 25 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures fell to one-week low on Tuesday as investors continued to book profits on a rally driven by strong demand and tight supplies.

Although cargo surveyors said Malaysian exports hit above 1 million tonnes for the first 25 days of January, some traders were concerned the recent run-up in prices owing to tight supply would eventually slow demand.

A bearish technical outlook may have weighed on palm oil. A Reuters analysis showed the Malaysian market could fall to 3,650 ringgit per tonne.

The benchmark April 2011 crude palm oil contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives fell as much as 1.6 percent to 3,690 ringgit ($1,208), a level unseen since Jan 18. The contract then settled at 3,703 ringgit. Traded volume stood at 24,436 lots of 25 tonnes each, slightly lower than the usual 15,000 lots.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Indonesian and Philippine shares rose on Tuesday, regaining a little of the ground lost recently as some investors looked for bargains in banks and other big-cap stocks, but others in the region failed to hold on to early gains.

Several Southeast Asian indexes are around multi-month lows, but that has taken some to what are seen as oversold areas, including Indonesia <.JKSE>, the Philippines <.PSI> and Thailand <.SETI>. Trade was generally more active on Tuesday, with volume in Singapore <.FTSTI> at 1.4 times its 30-day average.