NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks were little changed on Tuesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's latest warning about the risk of inflation countered a rise in energy shares on higher oil prices. Advertisement

Oil company Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE:XOM - news) rose 1.8 percent as U.S. crude oil advanced on forecasts of colder weather in the United States.

Stocks moved between positive and negative territory earlier, driven by mixed economic data. Reports showed weakness in durable goods orders and consumer confidence but surprising growth in the battered housing sector.

Concerns about the recent dollar sell-off also contributed to negative sentiment, traders said.

Bernanke said in a speech the U.S. economy is poised to expand at a moderate rate but that risks remain of higher inflation.

The stock market's reaction was "the Fed is going to be more hawkish and there's little likelihood of a rate cut in the near future," said Michael James, a senior trader at regional investment bank Wedbush Morgan in Los Angeles.

"Bernanke's more concerned about growth moving faster than previously anticipated," he said.

The Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI - news) was down 12.18 points, or 0.10 percent, at 12,109.53. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (^SPX - news) was up 1.20 points, or 0.09 percent, at 1,383.10. The Nasdaq Composite Index (^IXIC - news) was down 5.24 points, or 0.22 percent, at 2,400.68.

Exxon rose $1.31 to $73.78 and was a main factor pulling the S&P higher. Crude oil prices rose 53 cents to $60.85 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The recent drop in the dollar has hurt demand for U.S. investments, causing U.S. stock indexes to register their worst day in months on Monday.

"After the shakeout we had yesterday, the market was going to have to chop around a little bit and do some digestion, and that seems to be what we're getting," said Todd Clark, director of stock trading at Nollenberger Capital Partners in San Francisco.

Interest rate sensitive shares such as Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - news) fell. The heavy equipment maker was the biggest drag on the Dow, losing 1.1 percent to $61.29.

On the Nasdaq, shares of Apple Computer Inc. (Nasdaq:AAPL - news) rose 1.8 percent to $91.16 after UBS raised its price target on the company.

But other technology company shares fell, including Qualcomm Inc. (Nasdaq:QCOM - news) and Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT - news). Qualcomm was down 1.8 percent to $35.78 while Microsoft fell 0.5 percent to $29.33.

(Additional reporting by Jennifer Coogan and Caroline Valetkevitch)