U.S. stocks moved slightly higher on Wednesday as better-than-expected earnings from Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. provided a lift, even as crude oil prices rose to a 2-week high and triggered worry about high energy costs.

Bullish corporate news helped the Standard & Poor’s 500 and the Nasdaq composite reach new three-year highs in the previous session, but the rally stalled Wednesday as the indexes stuck close to their day-earlier levels.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 15 points, or 0.14 percent, to close at 10,691.45. The S & P; 500 was up 2.34 points, or 0.19 percent, to finish at 1,205.72. The Nasdaq Composite Index ended up 2.71 points, or 0.13 percent, at 2,162.55.

**For more on this story,

read the full Associated Press article

.