Today, the Dow Jones industrial average closed up 27.95 or 0.23% to 12,382.30, the broader S&P 500 closed up 3.69 or 0.26% to 1,424.55, and the Nasdaq composite ended little changed closing up 0.62 or 0.03% to 2422.26.

Market breadth was mixed. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners topped losers 5 to 3 on volume of 1.5 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, decliners and advancers were roughly even on volume of 1.76 billion shares.

The new quarter started off on a quiet note, as investors welcomed the day's deals news, but held back a bit at the start of a big week for economic reports. The Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index fell to 50.9 in March from 52.3 in the previous month, just short of forecasts for a drop to 51.1. The prices paid index, which measures inflationary pressures in the sector, climbed to 65.5 in March from 59.0 in February. New orders, a gauge of future growth, eased to 51.6 from 54.9, while the employment index fell to 48.7 from 51.1. A slowing economy paired with higher inflation, as the ISM report seemed to indicate, would be particularly troublesome for the Federal Reserve to manage and for stock investors to handle.

Stock of First Data Corp. (NYSE: FDC) closed up $5.55 or 20.6% to $32.45, after agreeing to be bought for $429 billion in cash by private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. However, it also said it plans to actively seek other bids. This is the latest in a string of high-profile leveraged buyouts of established U.S. corporations in an era of easily accessible financing. Under the agreement, First Data shareholders would be paid $34 each share of the company they own, a 26% premium to where the shares closed on March 30.

Shares of Tribune (NYSE: TRB) closed up $0.70 to $32.81, after Sam Zell won the bidding war in a deal worth $13 billion, or $34 a share. Tribune also announced it would sell the Chicago Cubs baseball team after the 2007 baseball season ends in a move to relieve some of its debt.

Shares of Global Imaging Systems closed up $9.14 or 47% to $28.64, after Xerox (NYSE: XRX) said it is buying it for $1.5 billion in cash. Shares of Xerox closed up $0.19 or 1% to $17.08. This places the deal at $29 per share. This gives Xerox access to their extensive customer base.

Shares of Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) closed up $0.74 to $93.65, after the EMI Group struck a deal with iTunes to sell its music catalog without anti-piracy protection, known as DRM restrictions. EMI, which owns the Beatles catalog, said that music from the Beatles is not part of the deal with Apple.

Stock of Merck (NYSE: MRK) closed up $0.84 to $45.01, on news that the FDA has granted approval for its diabetes treating pill, Janumet. This combines two diabetes medicines into a single pill, ad pairs Januvia with a widely used, older generic medicine called metformin.

Shares of New Century Financial (NYSE: NEW) closed down $0.15 or 15% to $0.92, after it fled for bankruptcy protection. This is the largest U.S. independent provider of home loans to people with poor credit histories before collapsing amid rising subprime delinquencies and defaults started rising. New Century Financial Corp. will immediately cut 3,200 jobs, as part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. Additionally, it has agreed to sell its servicing assets and platform to Carrington Capital Management LLC for $139 million, subject to bankruptcy approval.

U.S. light crude oil for May delivery rose 7 cents to settle at $65.94 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, giving back bigger gains.