* U.S. stocks pare gains; volatility expected
* Sterling choppy after Brexit action
* Euro weakens on heels of Draghi comments, end of QE
By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK, Dec 13 (Reuters) - A gauge of world equities was little changed after giving up early gains on Thursday, continuing a pattern seen for the past several sessions, while the euro eased after the European Central Bank formally ended its bond purchasing scheme.
In the United States, the S&P and Nasdaq finished in the red while the Dow closed well off its session highs as cautious trade optimism faded. Nervousness has heightened volatility in stocks recently, with a tendency for stocks to lose morning gains as the day wears on.
In Beijing, a commerce ministry spokesman said China and the United States were in close contact over trade, and any U.S. trade delegation would be welcome to visit. signs of a trade thaw have been welcomed by investors, other worries have kept stocks from sustaining gains.
"It's a market that's been very nervous. Investors get excited in the morning and then their fears come back," said Omar Aguilar, chief investment officer of equities at Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) Investment Management in San Francisco.
"We need a catalyst to get us a more consistent trend - it could be good economic data or more clarity on the Fed's intentions for next year or more certainty in U.S.-China. I don't think it's going to happen any time soon."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 70.11 points, or 0.29 percent, to 24,597.38, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 0.53 points, or 0.02 percent, to 2,650.54 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 27.98 points, or 0.39 percent, to 7,070.33.
U.S. economic data showed jobless claims fell last week to near 49-year lows, while import prices dropped as the cost of petroleum products tumbled. in Europe edged lower to snap a two-session winning streak, as concerns about Britain's exit from the European Union and euro zone growth outweighed a budget compromise in Italy. pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX lost 0.17 percent and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS gained 0.05 percent.
Britain's weakened prime minister, Theresa May, survived a late night no-confidence vote, and then said she did not expect a quick breakthrough in Brexit talks that would help get the deal through parliament. ECB officially ended its post-crisis asset purchase program but promised to keep feeding stimulus into an economy struggling with an unexpected slowdown and political turmoil. euro and sterling were choppy on the Brexit uncertainty and in the wake of comments from ECB President Mario Draghi investors viewed as dovish following the policy announcement.
The dollar index .DXY rose 0.02 percent, with the euro EUR= down 0.04 percent to $1.1363.
Sterling GBP= , rebounding from earlier declines, was last trading at $1.2662, up 0.26 percent on the day.
Oil prices were higher after data showed inventory declines in the United States and as investors began to expect the global oil market could have a deficit sooner than previously thought. crude CLcv1 settled up 2.8 percent at $52.58 per barrel and Brent LCOcv1 was last at $61.45, up 2.16 percent.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ GRAPHIC-The ECB's QE
https://tmsnrt.rs/2Q5CUem GRAPHIC-Global assets in 2018
http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl GRAPHIC-Global currencies vs. dollar
http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh GRAPHIC-Weekly U.S. jobless claims
https://tmsnrt.rs/2QqMTa4
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