NEW YORK — Stocks traded mixed Wednesday after factory orders showed their the weakest performance in three months in May.

The Commerce Department's report that orders rose by 0.6 percent — in line with a consensus of Wall Street economists surveyed by Thomson Financial — offered investors little incentive to make big moves either way. The increase follows a gain of 1.3 percent for April and showed weakening demand for autos, heavy machinery and steel.

The data offer further evidence that higher energy prices are causing some businesses and consumers to pare their spending.

Oil ticked higher. A barrel of light sweet crude rose 16 cents to $141.13 on the New York Mercantile Exchange amid concerns about tight supply and tensions in the Middle East.

In midmorning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 23.20, or 0.20 percent, to 11,405.46.

Broader stock indicators were mixed. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 4.29, or 0.33 percent, to 1,289.20, and the Nasdaq composite index slipped 0.89, or 0.04 percent, to 2,304.08.

Declining issues narrowly outpaced advancers on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 273.7 million shares.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.97 percent from 4.01 percent late Tuesday. The dollar slipped versus other major currencies, while gold prices fell.

In corporate news, Microsoft Corp. has approached other media companies about a bid to acquire Yahoo Inc., according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. Yahoo rose $1.51, or 7.5 percent, to $21.71, while Microsoft fell 11 cents to $26.77.

Starbucks Corp. rose 13 cents to $15.75 after announcing late Tuesday it will close 600 company-operated stores in the next year because of the faltering U.S. economy. The company said 70 percent of those slated for closure opened after the start of 2006.

And Blockbuster Inc. said it is withdrawing its proposal to buy Circuit City Stores Inc. Blockbuster said the proposed deal, at a price of more than $1 billion, didn't make sense because of market conditions. Blockbuster jumped 31 cents, or 12 percent, to $2.82, while Circuit City fell 35 cents, or 14 percent, to $2.20.

Health insurer UnitedHealth Group Inc. lowered its 2008 profit forecast, citing reduced commercial business and higher-than-expected Medicare-related costs. Separately, the company also said it agreed to pay $895 million to settle a class-action lawsuit with the California Public Employees Retirement System and the Alaska Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry Pension Trust. UnitedHealth advanced 76 cents, or 2.9 percent, to $26.39.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies slipped 0.48, or 0.07 percent, to 691.11.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 1.31 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.65 percent, Germany's DAX index added 0.58 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 0.27 percent.