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NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stocks eked out a small gain on Tuesday as investors' enthusiasm over a tax cut extension deal was short-circuited by rising bond yields and reports regulators were stepping up an insider-trading probe.

The S&P 500 hit a two-year intraday high after U.S. President Barack Obama forged the deal with Republicans to renew Bush-era tax cuts.

But the rally fizzled late as the yield on the 10-year note hit its highest level since June and debt prices fell sharply.

"The smashing that (bonds) are taking today is disconcerting," said Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co in New York.

"The spike in interest rates could be enough to stop the equity rally in its tracks."

The rise in yields added to anxiety from news the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has issued more than a dozen subpoenas in its investigation of insider trading on Wall Street, potentially undermining public confidence in the markets.

Optimism over the tax agreement sent the S&P 500 to a new intraday two-year high and above a key technical measure, but the index retreated, confirming the 1,228 level remains a strong resistance point.

Analysts said the lofty heights recently attained by stock indexes may have also given investors reason to pause due to skittishness.

"The market has had a nice run. Investors are a little nervous about the move we just had and are looking for any type of reason to sell off," said Angel Mata, managing director of listed equity trading at Stifel Nicolaus Capital Markets in Baltimore.

Still, he noted the pullback could signal additional room for a move higher in equities.

The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) dropped 3.03 points, or 0.03 percent, to 11,359.16. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (.SPX) added 0.63 points, or 0.05 percent, to 1,223.75. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) gained 3.57 points, or 0.14 percent, to 2,598.49.

Volume surged on Tuesday as more than 11 billion shares changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Amex and Nasdaq. That compared with the year-to-date estimated daily average of 8.63 billion.

The CBOE volatility index (.VIX) closed at 17.99 -- its lowest level since April and below a key technical resistance at 18.

Citigroup (C.N) shares rose 3.8 percent to $4.62 on massive volume after the U.S. government sold its remaining stake in the company. The move could lead to an increased weighting for the bank in the S&P 500 as the company moves to a 100 percent float, according to Credit Suisse.

Credit Suisse estimated that portfolios following the S&P may need to buy up to 375 million Citigroup shares, although the timing of the purchases was uncertain. Citigroup volume totaled nearly 3.1 billion shares, roughly 30 percent of the total volume of 10.9 billion.

3M Co (MMM.N) shares fell 3.1 percent to $84.19. The Dow component forecast 2011 profit that could top expectations but issued an outlook for sales growth that was lower than some analysts expected.

In other corporate news, natural gas distributor Nicor Inc (GAS.N) climbed 4.3 percent to $48.79 after it agreed to be acquired by rival AGL Resources Inc (AGL.N) for $2.4 billion. AGL shed 5.8 percent to $34.

Talbots Inc (TLB.N) plunged 22.7 percent to $8.

Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by 1,496 to 1,485, while on the Nasdaq, advancers beat decliners 1,485 to 1,162.

(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Additional reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

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Cairn India is listed in Mumbai, but the majority belonging to Cairn Energy, the browser centred in Edinburgh. Its main strengths are oil fields in Rajasthan, strategic importance in India and could provide much of the country's needs.

After weeks of speculation about a bid to counter State, Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has now written Cairn Energy asking him to articulate the qualities of Vedanta to run the champs.Il clarification is whether Vedanta "financial strength, technical capability and past experience in the field of oil and gas".

ONGC has already has fields in Rajasthan 30pc and stressed that she first right to purchase the game restant.Vedanta, pinworm Indian listed FTSE 100, insists on the fact that it has the necessary resources to develop the fields correctly.

Bill Gammell, CEO of Cairn Energy, said the week last in Mumbai that CGSB has no rights of pre-emption on the fields.

However, the Indian Government has already indicated that it will make the final decision that Vedanta has the expertise to develop regulatory approval decision champs.Une is expected at the end of the year.

Vedanta funding agreement taking about $6. 5bn debt - not far off the coast of market value of the mining company.

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"Consumers found trapped in"reversal"transactions in the long term on the basis of anything else that alleged letter, are right to be angry," says Audrey Gallacher, head of the energy policy to the consumer focus. "It is not clear that termination fees are fair, or are clearly explained." She said that in some cases they could even resists to legal review.

BT, British Gas, EDF Energy, Scottish Power are a few companies using these methods, and customers often pay more than 60 books to liberate themselves from trafficking in desired and often expensive.

Practice putting contracts has been banned for small business clients but regulators are not passed to protect ordinary household against the same dangers, despite the watchdog letters and repeated warnings that spreads the practice.

Four million clients who signed fixed rate deals with several years ago energy companies may find on these contracts turning, while BT landline customers fall also coarse them.

Generally, when the current customer's agreement is close to its end, the company will be email or write to them, explaining that they are not required to do something and that they will be placed on a fixed unless they ask explicitly something else new.

However, much of this contact takes place by e-mail, which can easily end up junk mailbox a client, while the rest can easily be missed if you are not at the wrong time or fail to notice small print in a letter.

In most cases, clients receive a month to amend their contract, and if they do not in this period they cannot get out of it without charge penalties for an entire year.The undertakings concerned insist on the fact it is quite fair, despite the fact that it is easy to miss an email or to reject a contract renewal letter where the existence of termination payments is mentioned only in small characters.

Regulatory agencies, however, does not necessarily acceptent.Un obliges electricity regulator's spokesperson said that "noted concerns" on these contracts and the practice of the automatic rollover contract.

"Specifically, [we are concerned] the level of transparency of terms and conditions and the consequences for clients if they do not fully understand" she says. OFGEM plans to consult on if automatic transfers to domestic energy retail customers should be restricted in some way.

OFCOM regulates the telecommunications industry said he had concerns about BT contracts.He has already forced the former state provider to reduce termination of ￡ 7.50 per month costs ￡ 2.50 by mois.Toutefois, this Cup is not effective until the end of this month, so clients reeling from her most recent rising prices and who wish to spend somewhere cheaper are still being charged up to 90 pounds.

"BT are the only ones to do and we're not too impressed," said a spokesman for OFCOM.

Ms. Gallacher consumption activity said she feared enterprises more, would eventually presenting contracts, unless the regulatory bodies sorted the problem. ""If these companies with impunity they all begin do," she says.

British Gas, which charges customers ￡ 35 per fuel if they switch away from their new agreement fixed price outside of the 30 day period stipulated, said that his clients loved their contracts because capotés. ""Our customers expect to be placed on another contract term," said a spokesman. "Communicate with everyone, and we give them the best rate at the time.?

BT said that provided customers a better service to its provider charges currently concurrents.Le ￡ 7.50 per month for regular clients who want to spend their standard call plan night Unlimited and weekend, a contract of 12 months as it rolls automatically.

Company recently raised its prices, which means that people who are looking to avoid the increase in prices have been hit with more costs they waited.

"Renewable contracts are standard of many services such as subscriptions to journals, insurance breakdown of the voiture.Nos customer data are clearly both verbally and in writing of the nature of their contract and what it means in exchange for benefits they receive to the command," said a spokesman.

Scottish Power, which collects a fee of ￡ 50 exit if clients fail to opt out of their flat rate tariff and get rolled into another, said that he wrote to customers twice before to the new agreement.

EDF, which also cost ￡ 50 termination fee unless you pass in the appropriate 28-day period before you find yourself automatically on another contract, also said its customers liked fixed price fares and had an appropriate notice period.

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Line revolves around to grant a licence "Passport" who want to work in all 27 EU Member States or foreign funds.

France wants stricter rules for foreign fund managers while United Kingdom - based European hedge funds - 80pc wishes to allow same rights as their national counterparts.

Jean-Paul Gauzès, parliamentary law, rapporteur said in a statement, the postponement is due to "the absence of an agreement", the Committee permanents.En consequence, Parliament representatives has developed out of a vote on the project until November, with no other talks three channels provided with the European Council and the Commission to the Member States have merged.

Christine Lagarde, the French Finance Minister and Chancellor George Osborne should speak in the coming days in a final attempt to reach an agreement on controls for hedge funds and private equity firms before a meeting of Finance Ministers at the beginning of next week.

The Belgian Presidency of the Council this week released another draft compromise directive, further refining its previous proposals for a Passport on the market of third-party investors EU funds.

The United Kingdom - along with the Sweden, the Netherlands and Czech Republic - is reluctant to subscribe to this latest version.

Belgium also proposed to give new powers to the European Securities and markets, a new EU guard dog that Paris wants to resume execution of the Passport program as opposed to France authority.

The controversial law resulted in heartbreak, since it was first proposed in April 2009.Il also influenced Washington, who felt that French plans are protectionnistes.U.S.The Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner wrote to Ms LaGarde warning against trying to control the operations of international hedge funds.

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