NEW YORK, May 7 (UPI) -- Stock indexes were mixed Wednesday after the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced an rise in first quarter productivity.

The quarterly report said productivity rose at a higher-than-expected seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.2 percent, while unit labor costs increased at a lower-than-expected 2.2 percent.

In late-morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average slid 0.28 percent, down 30.80 points to 12,984.03. The Standard and Poor's 500 index dropped 0.29 percent, down 4.05 points to 1,414.21. The Nasdaq composite index of tech-dominated stock gained 0.12 percent, up 3.05 points to 2,486.40.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury note gained 1/32 to yield 3.921 percent.

The euro traded at $1.5398 from Tuesday's $1.5524, while the dollar traded at 105.34 yen from Tuesday's 104.71 yen.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei index gained 53.22 points to 14,102.48, up 0.38 percent.

Goldman Sachs predicts $200 a barrel oil

NEW YORK, May 7 (UPI) -- U.S. financial giant Goldman Sachs projects crude oil prices could reach $200 a barrel in the next 24 months, a company document says.

The firm cites the slow growth of supplies of the benchmark commodity, 24/7 Wall Street reported Wednesday.

The Goldman Sachs summary says, "the remaining duration of the upcycle remains a major uncertainty," 24/7 Wall Street noted.

On Tuesday, a new monthly report issued by the U.S. Energy Information Administration said crude oil consumption would increase at the rate of 1.2 million barrels per day in 2008.

Most Canadian grain stocks down in March

OTTAWA, May 7 (UPI) -- Total stocks of major Canadian grains were down at the end of March since a year earlier, with the exception of grain corn and oats.

The federal Statistics Canada agency said total stocks of grain corn were 6 million tons, 10 percent higher than March 2007, well above the previous record of 5.8 million tons set in 2006.

The total estimate for oats was 2 million tons, an increase of 30.3 percent from 2007 and substantially above the five-year average of 1.6 million tons, StatsCan said.

Total stocks of wheat excluding durum amounted to an estimated 8.8 million tons, down 4 million tons from March 2007, based on a 25.3 percent drop in production in 2007. Durum wheat stocks tumbled 35.2 percent to 2.1 million tons. Two years ago, a record 5.2 million tons of durum was reported, the report said.

Stocks of canola were down 22.2 percent over the year at 3.7 million tons, and barley stocks dipped 2.4 percent to 4.5 million tons during the period, the agency said.

Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S) close to closing WiMax deal

OVERLAND PARK, Kan., May 7 (UPI) -- U.S. telecommunications giant Sprint Nextel and Internet service Clearwire are close to announcing a joint WiMax venture, sources said Wednesday.

The project of creating a high-speed wireless Internet service for cell phones and laptop computers is valued at about $12 billion, The Washington Post (NYSE:WPO) reported.

Internet and telecommunications giants Google, Intel, Time Warner (NYSE:TWX) and Comcast are providing $3.2 billion to get the venture on its feet, the report said.

Sprint would own 51 percent of the business, which would be run by Clearwire's Chief Executive Officer Benjamin Wolff, the source said.

The new company will be called Clearwire and have its headquarters in Kirkland, Wash., the source said.

The companies may announce the deal this week, the Post reported.