NEW YORK (AP) – Stocks were narrowly mixed in early trading Monday as further cracks appeared in the subprime lending sector, stirring concerns that a blowup among companies making loans to consumers with poor credit will spill over to other sectors.

A warning from New Century Financial Corp. early Monday about its financial woes overshadowed merger news, which often gives a boost to enthusiasm on Wall Street.

The renewed concerns about subprime lenders follow a relatively successful week on Wall Street. Stocks etched out gains last week American and overseas markets managed to regain some sense of stability following a sharp pullback that began Feb. 27. Even amid the gains seen last week, however, concerns about subprime lenders weighed on investors.

In the first hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 20.34, or 0.17 percent, to 12,255.98.

Broader stock indicators were mixed. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 3.28, or 0.23 percent, to 1,399.57, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 1.25, or 0.05 percent, to 2,388.80.

Bonds rose, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note falling to 4.56 percent from 4.59 percent late Friday. The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices fell.

Light, sweet crude fell 43 cents to $59.62 a barrel in premarket electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In corporate news, New Century warned in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that all its lenders had cut off short-term funding or announced plans to do so. New Century said it would need about $8.4 billion should it be forced to repurchase all outstanding mortgage loans under its financial agreements. The company said it doesn’t have sufficient liquidity to meet its obligations for repurchasing mortgages.

Trading in New Century shares was halted before the opening bell Monday.

Unease about the subprime market has been growing as investors have become increasingly concerned about the ability of some homeowners with spotty credit to continue to pay their mortgages. Many of the mortgages came with low teaser rates and a cooling housing market has made it more difficult for people to refinance to extract cash from equity in their homes.

Schering-Plough Inc. rose 16 cents to $24.01 after agreeing to acquire the Organon BioSciences BV pharmaceuticals business of Akzo Nobel NV, a maker of chemicals and coatings, for $14.5 billion.

Boeing Co., one of the 30 stocks that make up the Dow industrials, said Kuwait-based Alafco Aviation Lease and Finance Co. agreed to purchase 18 airplanes with a list value of $2.26 billion. The deal includes 12 787-8 Dreamliner airplanes and six 737-800s. Boeing rose 34 cents to $89.85.

Procter & Gamble Co., the consumer products company, said it struck a deal to sell its Western European tissue and towel business to SCA, which makes paper and other products, for about $671.9 million. P&G, also a Dow component, advanced 12 cents to $62.28.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 1.33, or 0.17 percent, to 786.45.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 0.75 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index added 1.61 percent and the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.58 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.23 percent, Germany’s DAX index fell 0.40 percent, and France’s CAC-40 0.64 percent.

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