US stocks close mixed

Stocks turned in a mixed performance today after a report showed that the nation’s manufacturing sector was expanding but facing even higher costs, triggering worries about inflation and rising interest rates.

The market made a brief advance in early trading, lifted by a combined 10 billion dollar worth of acquisitions from NRG Energy Inc. and R.H. Donnelley Corp., but retraced its steps as investors mulled the latest industrial data from the Institute of Supply Management.