NEW YORK (AP) – Wall Street was narrowly mixed Monday after data showed U.S. manufacturing was more sluggish than expected, a further sign that the economy continues to grow at a slower pace.

Stocks had opened higher but pulled back after the Institute for Supply Management said its manufacturing index slipped more than economists projected in March. The index moved to a reading of 50.9 last month, compared to an expected reading of 52.0.

The market drew some support from big acquisitions announced before trading began. Among them were deals to take credit card transaction processor First Data Corp. and media conglomerate Tribune Co. private.

Wall Street has traded nervously the past few weeks on concerns about rising inflation and the overall health of the economy. On Friday, the major indexes finished the first quarter lower – with the Dow Jones industrials down 108 points in their feeblest performance since the second quarter of 2005

“The ISM number came in a little light, and we lost the excitement we had in the morning from all the M&A activity we saw,” said Arthur Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co. “That’s the battle we’re going to have – are we starting the quarter with good company news or will we continue to be concerned about an economic slowdown? That’s the argument.”

In midday trading, the Dow was up 8.37, or 0.07 percent, at 12,362.72. The benchmark index is now about 400 points below its highs reached Feb. 20.

Broader stock indicators were mixed. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was up 1.06, or 0.07 percent, at 1,421.92, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 5.24, or 0.22 percent, to 2,416.40.

Bonds moved lower after the ISM report showed slower growth amid accelerating price pressures. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 4.65 percent from 4.63 percent at Friday’s close. The dollar was lower against other major currencies, while gold prices also fell.

Oil prices declined as investors continued to speculate about how tensions between Iran and Britain might interrupt supply from the Middle East. A barrel of light sweet crude fell 28 cents to $65.59 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

First Data spiked $5.60, or 20.1 percent, to $32.50 after Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. agreed to take it private in a $29 billion deal. This is one of the largest private equity deals of the year, coming in second only to KKR’s deal to buy energy company TXU Corp. for $31.8 billion.

Also going private is Tribune, which accepted a buyout offer from real estate investor Sam Zell in a deal valued at about $8.2 billion. Shares of the media company that owns the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times rose 86 cents, or 2.5 percent, to $32.97.

Xerox Corp. announced a deal to acquire Global Imaging Systems for $1.5 billion. Shares rose 10 cents at $16.99.

Web search leader Google Inc. is said to be interested in buying advertising placement firm DoubleClick in a deal worth about $2 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal. Microsoft Corp. was also reported to be interested in buying the company. Google fell $3.28 to $454.88, while Microsoft edged down 13 cents to $27.74.

In other corporate news, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. rose $2.79, or 4.3 percent, to $67.64. It announced Steven J. Heyer has resigned as chief executive and a director after the company’s board lost confidence in his leadership. The company also reaffirmed its first-quarter and full-year guidance.

Apple Inc. shares rose 69 cents to $93.60 after it reached an agreement with EMI Group PLC to sell the record label’s songs online without copy protection software. However, the deal did not include The Beatles catalog.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies was down 0.18, or 0.02 percent, at 800.53.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by about 3 to 2 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 610.6 million shares.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average closed up 1.50 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 0.12 percent, Germany’s DAX index fell 0.29 percent, and France’s CAC-40 was down 0.20 percent.

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