Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, Sept 20 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks ended little changed on Tuesday as investors waited to see if the U.S. Federal Reserve would offer more economic stimulus and if Greece made progress in talks to avoid a default.

In the lowest volume session since late August, the market gave up earlier gains of about 1 percent as investors were wary of going home with long positions after an overnight downgrade of Italy's credit rating.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI gained 7.65 points, or 0.07 percent, to 11,408.66 at the close. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX fell 2.00 points, or 0.17 percent, to 1,202.09. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC lost 22.59 points, or 0.86 percent, to 2,590.24.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, Sept 20 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures rose on Tuesday, in choppy trading as the October contract approached expiration and bouncing after sliding the previous session on hopes the Federal Reserve may act to stimulate the economy.

U.S. stocks on Wall Street ended little changed in low volume trading, shedding earlier gains also attributed to hopes that the Fed will indicate new actions to boost a flagging economy when it finishes its two-day meeting on Wednesday.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, expiring October crude CLV1 rose $1.19, or 1.39 percent to settle at $86.89 a barrel, having traded from $85.11 and $87.46.

CBOT-SOYBEANS-Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade ended higher Tuesday in a short-covering bounce after a six-day sell-off left the market technically oversold, while a drop in weekly U.S. crop ratings added support, traders said.

Strength in crude oil and a setback in the U.S. dollar added support.But soybeans ended off the day's highs on spillover pressure from a retreat in CBOT corn and the approach of the U.S. corn and soy harvest.

FCPO-KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures inched up on Tuesday as the weaker ringgit MYR= made the vegetable oil cheaper to process at time when exports could start rising again ahead of an Indian festival and a national holiday in China.

Investors were also bargain hunting after commodity prices declined the previous day on concerns about the euro zone's debt crisis, boosting safe-havens such as the U.S. dollar.

Benchmark December palm oil FCPOc3 on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange settled up 0.9 percent to 3,067 ringgit($985.48) per tonne.

Overall volumes were light, with 16,863 lots of 25 tonnes changing hands, compared to the usual 25,000 lots.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-Sept 19 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets fell on Tuesday, hit by ouflows of global capital, as ratings agency S&P's downgrade of Italy and concerns of a Greek default rattled emerging-market nerves in Asia.

Jakarta suffered outflows of $88.9 million, Bangkok saw outflows of $61.6 million, Manila saw foreign selling of $11.7 million and Kuala Lumpur witnessed outflows of $28.1 million.

Standard and Poor's downgraded its unsolicited ratings on Italy by one notch to A/A-1 and kept its outlook on negative, a major surprise that threatens to add to concerns of contagion in the debt-stressed euro zone amid still unresolved sovereign debt crisis in Greece

Bucking the trend, Thailand .SETI and Singapore .FTSTI gained 0.9 percent each, led by banks with Siam Commercial Bank SCB.BK and Kasikornbank KBAN.BK rising over 2.2 percent in Bangkok and DBS DBSM.SI and United Overseas Bank UOBH.SI gaining 0.4 percent and 0.9 percent respectively.