keywords: stocks shares markets brokerage trading
text: Stocks Are Mixed on Surging Oil Prices NEW YORK - Stocks were mixed Wednesday as a lower reading on manufacturing activity and rising oil prices chilled an early spate of bargain hunting. Technology shares inched higher despite brokerage downgrades of two semiconductor companies    With trading light, the markets were slow to react to the August reading of the Institute of Supply Management's manufacturing index, which declined to 59.0 in August, lower than the 59.8 percent expected on Wall Street...