The New York equities markets were down at midday on Tuesday as Google issued a warning on slowing growth that hurt not only that company’s shares but those of other internet companies as well.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average had fallen 0.8 percent at mid-session to 11,005.26, while the Nasdaq Composite had declined by 1.1 percent to 2,282.77 and the S&P 500 was down 1 percent to 1,1281.79.

Google’s chief financial officer said at an investor conference in New York that the company’s growth is slowing down. This, along with a fourth-quarter earnings report earlier in the month that was less than spectacular has sent Google’s shares down 16.8 percent since February 1. At midday, Google’s loss on the day amounted to 7.8 percent as shares traded at $359.87. Elsewhere in the sector, eBay was down 3.3 percent to $39.93 and Yahoo declined by 2.2 percent to $32.02.

Other losers included hospital supply company Hospira, which was down 16.1 percent to $39.48 on a report that it had recorded a 46 percent drop in earnings in the fourth quarter because of declining sales. Also down was for-profit education company Apollo Group, which lost 14 percent to $50.27 on a suspension of its 2006 outlook.

Staples, the office supplies retailer, was up 5.6 percent to $24.35 on a 15 percent gain in fourth-quarter net profits.

The New York equities markets were up in midday trade on Monday after losses on Thursday and Friday of last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average had risen by 0.5 percent to 11,118.60 by the middle of the session, while the Nasdaq composite was up 1 percent to 2,308.84 and the S&P 500 was up 0.5 percent to 1,295.45.

The retail sector helped buoy the S&P, with home improvement retailers Lowe’s and Home Depot both up even though data showed new home sales down sharply. Lowe’s gained 4.5 percent to $68.45 on its report of a 37 percent increase in profits in the fourth quarter, while Home Depot gained 1.2 percent to $42.11.

Technology stocks aided the Nasdaq in its gains. Intel gained 1.7 percent to $20.68 on an upgrade to “outperform” from “market perform” on the expected success of several pending product introductions. Intel’s rival, Advanced Micro Device, was up 0.9 percent to $40.89.

Walt Disney and Apple both saw gains as rumors spread that Apple might bid for Disney after Apple founder Steve Jobs succeeds in becoming Disney’s top shareholder. Disney was up 1.3 percent to $28.33 and Apple added 0.6 percent to $71.86.

In the utilities sector, Texas Utilities was up 3.7 percent to $51.59 on word that General Electric might buy into the company. GE, which also announced that it will sell its stake in Genworth Financial, was up 0.3 percent to $33.25.

Midday on Wall Street saw the main indexes down amid profit-taking following gains on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average had dropped 0.4 percent to 11.092.99. The Nasdaq composite was nearly unchanged at 2,284.09, but the S&P 500 had fallen by 0.3 percent to 1,289.

The Nasdaq was helped by a 3.1 percent rise by Google, while the Dow was hurt by declines from several companies. Other news helped send the indexes down as well, as lower reported unemployment claims led to more speculation of more interest rate hikes to come. Losses were limited, though, as crude oil prices dropped after weekly inventories reports showed that US crude oil stockpiles had grown again.

Banks, insurers, and pharmaceuticals were down on the day, as was Viacom, in its first earnings report since parting ways with CBS. Viacom reported fourth-quarter profits were down 67 percent, sending its shares down 3.2 percent to $40.75. Paint maker Sherwin-Willams was also down, by 5.7 percent to $40.75.

Other losers on the day included American International Group, down 1.1 percent to $67.20; IBM, which dropped 1.3 percent to $80.30; and General Motors, dropping 1.9 percent to $20.78.

Fannie Mae, on the other hand, was up 2.5 percent to $57.33 after an internal investigation into an accounting scandal found no further problems.

Toll Brothers, the homebuilder which had seen recent losses, was up 2.6 percent on the day to $33.32 after it reported first-quarter earnings had risen 49 percent and that net income was up $163.9 million, which worked out to a gain of 98 cents per share.

Meanwhile, grocery chain Safeway was up 4.8 percent to $24.37 on a report of higher quarterly earnings than had been expected and comic book publisher Marvel Entertainment gained $1.27 to $17.38 after reporting on its fourth quarter and raising sales and earnings forecasts for this year.

The New York equities markets were down in mid-day trade on Tuesday on a mixed but mostly lower retail sector and declines in the computer hardware sector.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.3 percent in the middle of the day to 11,070.74, the Nasdaq composite had dropped 1 percent to 2,260.27, and the S&P 500 had declined by 0.4 percent to 1,282.25.

Federated Department Stores, which owns Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s, saw a decline of 0.8 percent to $71.06 despite an gain of 59 percent in fourth quarter net profits, which was still short of the expected gain. Wal-Mart also saw fourth-quarter earnings grow less than expected, sending the retailer’s shares down 1.3 percent to $45.67. Electronics retailer Radio Shack dropped 0.3 percent after reporting a 62 percent drop in fourth-quarter earnings. Home Depot bucked the trend, but only slightly, rising 0.1 percent to $41.67 on a 30 percent gain in fourth-quarter earnings, a better result than had been expected.

In the computer hardware sector, Hewlett Packard dropped 3 percent to $33.05. Apple was down 2.1 percent to $68.82. Dell dropped 1.2 percent to $30.02. These declines affected the bigger technology sector as chipmaker Texas Instruments fell 2.5 percent to $30.68, Broadcom was down 2.6 percent to $66.16, and Applied Materials declined by 2.9 percent to $19.15.

After gains on Tuesday, New York equities markets were at a virtual standstill at midday on Wednesday as analysts and investors considered what the implications were of new US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s comments in his first appearance before the US Congress. He said that more interest rate hikes could be in the offing but that the economy seemed to be doing well.

By the middle of the trading day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average hadn’t moved at all, while the Nasdaq composite and the S&P 500 were both up slightly. The Dow was at 11,029.19. The Nasdaq had risen 0.3 percent to 2,268.91, and the S&P had gone up 0.1 percent to 1,276.39.

In the financial sector, Merrill Lynch was up 0.5 percent to $75.52 on the announcement that it will merge its investment management division with Black Rock, which gained 9.6 percent to $159.99. The new company will do business under the Black Rock name.

Elsewhere in banking and finance, Bank of New York and Bear Stearns were both up on upgrades from “neutral” to “buy” from Merrill Lynch. Bank of New York was upgraded on the strength of its processing and banking businesses, and gained 1.1 percent to $33.84. Bear Sterns received an upgrade because Merrill Lynch said its share price does not reflect its potential earnings growth, which sent its shares up 2.1 percent to $132.21.

Despite lower crude oil prices on Tuesday and Wednesday data showing stockpiles up, oil stocks were on the rise. Marathon Oil gained 3.7 percent to $68.97, while Valero Energy was up 3.3 percent to $51.39.

In the retail sector, Abercrombie & Fitch lost 4.2 percent to $65.89 despite reports of a 58 percent rise in profits in the fourth quarter. The loss came due to a warning that full-year earnings were likely not going to meet expectations.

Wall Street saw mixed results over the week, with slight gains in the Dow Jones Industrial Average but declines on the Nasdaq composite index and the S&P 500. The Dow rose 0.5 percent to 10,843.89, while the Nasdaq dropped 0.9 percent to 2,241.82 and the S&P declined by 0.5 percent to 1,259.02.

Energy was down during the week, as was the mining and house building sectors. Some technology stocks were up, however, as were portions of the pharmaceuticals sector.

In pharmaceuticals, Pfizer peaked Wednesday on reports that it is thinking of selling its consumer products division. Late in the week, as the company said that sales and earnings this year would only reach last year’s levels, there were declines. Pfizer’s shares dropped 1.7 percent on Friday, but still held on to a 2.4 percent gain for the week to end at $25.89.

The technology sector was aided by Cisco Systems’ good news on second-quarter profits and on an optimistic outlook report. Cisco gained 8.6 percent on the week to $19.71. Elsewhere in the sector, computer services company Electronic Data Systems was up 1.8 percent for the week to $25.84, while software company Oracle managed a 3.8 percent gain over the week to $12.86, despite little movement on Friday.

The energy index on the S&P fell 5 percent for the week as oil and gas exploration company EGO Resources dropped 12.8 percent to $68.95. In addition, ExxonMobil was off 3.3 percent to $59.39 and Chevron lost 1.9 percent to $56.41.

In the housing sector, Toll Brothers lost 7.7 percent on the week, to $29.71, after releasing a first-quarter report that showed sales down 29 percent. Merrill Lynch downgraded the company’s stock from “buy” to “neutral”. The week’s decline brought Toll Brothers’ loss to 18.5 percent since the beginning of the year. All this seemed to be an indication that the housing market has hit its peak.

Falling commodity prices sent US Steel down 5.6 percent to $54.96. Meanwhile, gold miner Newmont Mining dropped 7.9 percent to $54.91.

The New York equities markets were higher on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1 percent to 10,858.62, while Nasdaq also added 1 percent and the S&P 500 was up 0.9 percent, to 2,266.98 and 1,265.65 respectively.

Good news came in the form of possible bids in the pharmaceuticals sector and an optimistic guidance report from Cisco Systems, in the technology sector. Cisco gained 7.2 percent to $19.40 despite a report on Tuesday that second-quarter net profits fell 1.8 percent, when the company’s chief executive said that third-quarter sales would be up and reiterated the company’s 10 to 12 percent full-year revenue guidance.

Elsewhere in the technology sector, computer maker Dell gained 6.2 percent to $31.52 when Sanford Bernstein issued an upgrade from “market perform” to “outperform”. Additionally, Hewlett-Packard rose 5.4 percent to $32.01 and IMB gained 1.4 percent to $80.80. Meanwhile, semiconductor equipment maker Applied Materials was up 3.1 percent to $20.10.

The pharmaceuticals sector received help from Pfizer’s announcement that it is considering selling it’s consumer products division, which manufactures products such as Listerine and Sudafed. On an estimate that the unit might be worth upwards of $10 billion, Pfizer’s shares were up 5.7 percent on the day to $26.37. Johnson & Johnson, which is seen as a potential bidder if Pfizer does decide to offer the unit for sale, gained 3.2 percent on the day to $58.60. Elsewhere in the sector, Procter & Gamble advanced 0.3 percent to $59.47.

On the other hand, General Motors received a downgrade from “hold” to “sell” from Deutsche Bank. This news made it the Dow’s biggest decliner of the day. GM lost 3.6 percent to $21.99.

Wall Street results were mixed by midday on Tuesday as the homebuilding sector was affected by bad news from luxury builder Toll Brothers, even as firms in other sectors released better-than-anticipated quarterly reports. While the Dow Jones Industrial Average had gained 0.1 percent to 10,805.63 by the middle of the trading day, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 had each lost 0.3 percent to 2,251.86 and 1,260.79 respectively.

Homebuilder Toll Brothers released a report saying that sales in the first quarter were down 29 percent and cutting is sales guidance for the year. This was seen as yet another sign that the US housing market is not as robust as it has been in recent times. Toll Brothers was down 3.1 percent to $30.23. In addition, DR Horton lost 2.7 percent to $34.01, while Pulte Homes dropped 1.6 percent to $37.33.

Besides affecting homebuilders, the news from Toll Brothers also had an effect on the retail home improvement sector. Home Depot was down 1.6 percent at midday to $38.86, while Loews dropped 0.9 percent to $62.36.

The Dow was helped by good news from Walt Disney and Coca-Cola. Disney’s report of an unexpected rise in first-quarter profits, combined with the announcement that it’s radio division was merging with Citadel Broadcasting sent shares in Disney up 5.1 percent to $26.24. This wasn’t quite as advantageous for Citadel, which dropped 4.8 percent to $11.42.

Meanwhile, Coca-Cola also reported quarterly gains, which sent its shares up 0.7 percent to $41.22.