NEW YORK (AP) – Wall Street traded mostly flat Tuesday as the latest round of takeover activity offered some support to stocks but wasn’t enough of a catalyst to push the market higher.

Investors didn’t get the direction they wanted despite further takeovers that signal corpompanies’ optimism about the economy. The latest pitch came late Monday from billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian, who plans to start talks to buy two Las Vegas properties from casino operator MGM Mirage Inc.

In addition to mergers and acquisitions, Wall Street was also analyzing its final batch of first-quarter results. Office supply chain Staples Inc. said profit rose 12 percent, but sales came in lighter than expected.

Bereft of major economic reports during the session, Wall Street will also closely monitor talks between American and Chinese government officials about trade and foreign exchange policy. Chinese stocks rose to a fresh record high for the second day in a row on Tuesday, as investors there were encouraged by expectations for a stronger yuan and robust housing demand.

In midmorning trading, the Dow Jones industrials fell 12.19, or 0.09 percent, to 13,530.69.

Broader stock indexes were narrowly mixed. The Standard & Poor’s 500 fell 2.26, or 0.15 percent, to 1,522.84. The index, considered by market professionals as the best indicator of stock performance, briefly passed its record close of 1,527.46 on Monday.

The Nasdaq composite index, which has lagged the other major indexes in recovery from Wall Street’s prolonged slump early in the decade, rose 3.86, or 0.15 percent, to 2,574.93.

Bonds were flat, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note at 4.79 percent. The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices fell.

The momentum seen in American stocks also appeared to be occurring globally, and particularly in China. The Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.9 percent to 4,110.38, breaking above 4,100 for the first time. The Shenzhen Composite Index climbed 1.4 percent to 1,198.41, also a record high.

The spike in Chinese stock markets coincided with high-level talks between the U.S. and China aimed at lessening economic tensions. Leaders began meeting on Monday for two days of talks to ease conflicts in bilateral trade and an undervalued yuan.

Though Chinese stocks are now at highs, it was a plunge in the Shanghai market in February that provoked worries worldwide about the global economy and valuation of share prices. Investors remain nervous that global markets might have gotten ahead of themselves, and are poised for a pull back similar to what happened earlier this year.

Oil prices backed off its recent run, with a barrel of light sweet crude falling 65 cents to $65.62 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices have been driven higher in part by ongoing concerns that American refiners are not producing enough gasoline to meet peak summer demand.

In corporate news, MGM Mirage surged $16.56, or 26.3 percent, to $79.51. Mr. Kerkorian said he expects to pursue “financial restructuring transactions for the casino. His investment vehicle, Tracinda Corp., owns a 56 percent stake in MGM Mirage.

Chevron Corp., the world’s second-largest oil company, said it will sell its 12 percent stake in power producer Dynegy Inc. The move is part of Chevron’s push to shed non-core operations, and sent its shares up 18 cents to $83.01. Dynegy fell 29 cents, or 2.9 percent, to $9.88.

Fremont General Corp. agreed to sell its commercial real estate lending business, and some of its loan portfolio, for $1.9 billion to Financial Inc. The Santa Monica-based company has been dismantling its business because of troubles in the subprime mortgage sector.

Shares of Fremont rose $2.87, or 40.4 percent, to $9.98.

Staples fell $1.09, or 4.3 percent, to $24.58 after the world’s largest office products retailer reported light first quarter sales, and nudged its profit guidance lower.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies was up 0.43, or 0.05 percent, at 834.08.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 0.70 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 0.09 percent, Germany’s DAX index was up 0.63 percent, and France’s CAC-40 was rose 0.21 percent.

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