BUZZ-US stocks: What's hot, what's not

** Equities' worst monthly slide in a year saw money flow back into REITs, utilities & healthcare stocks as corp earnings show clearly the hit to exporters' profits from stronger dollar

** Slow global growth, falling rates and currencies, and plunging commodity prices muddy investment landscape

** S&P Real Estate Index rises 6 pct YTD, outpacing utilities and healthcare Chart: http://link.reuters.com/tyc93w

** Ventas (NYSE: VTR - news) , Kimco and Simon Properties among top performing REITs YTD

** Apple (NasdaqGS: AAPL - news) 's holiday sales and profits growth single-handedly buoys S&P 500 Index

** Mobile connectivity theme prominent as Harman International ascends to a 10-year high and M&A activity picks up

** Strong US$ weighs on multinationals' earnings; Microsoft (NasdaqGS: MSFT - news) , Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT - news) , Procter & Gamble and Pfizer (NYSE: PFE - news) and others warn on FX headwinds

** Financials worst performing sector; JP Morgan, Bank of America (Swiss: BAC.SW - news) and Citigroup (NYSE: C - news) shed combined $70 bln of market cap Chart: http://link.reuters.com/syc93w

** Plummeting oil prices compel Chevron (Swiss: CVX.SW - news) , Royal Dutch Shell (LSE: RDSB.L - news) , Hess Corp and Conoco Phillips to slash spending

** On flipside Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV - news) , United Continental (NYSE: UAL - news) and Alaska Air (NYSE: ALK - news) reap benefits of cheaper fuel (RM (LSE: RM.L - news) lance.tupper.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)