Wall Street was mixed at midday on Friday after strong gains early in the week. Mid-session found the Dow Jones Industrial Average even for the day but 1.9 percent higher on the week at 11,723.10. The Nasdaq Composite was 0.1 percent higher on the day and 2.4 percent higher for the week at 2,272.52, while the S&P 500 was essentially flat on the day, down by only 0.4 points, but 1.8 percent higher on the week to 1,338.74.

With Friday’s session marking the end of the quarter, the Dow was up 5.1 percent for the third quarter and 9.4 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Nasdaq saw a quarterly gain of 4.6 percent but was only 3 percent higher for the year to date, and the S&P added 5.4 percent over the quarter and 7.2 percent so far this year.

The semiconductors sector was mixed on the week, with big gains and big losses. Intel was 9.2 percent higher on the week to $20.82 after a court victor over Advanced Micro Devices and the announcement that it will start shipping microprocessors with four cores in November. Broadcom added 9.8 percent to $30.57 even though it is in the middle of a patent dispute with Qualcomm. On the other hand, PMC-Sierra dropped 6.6 percent to $6.04 on weak demand that spurred a decreased revenues forecast.

Among internet companies, Ebay was 9.9 percent higher to $28.69 on rumors that Microsoft was set to purchase the online auction site and on an increased third-quarter revenues estimate from Goldman Sachs.

General Motors was 8.6 percent higher this week to $33.24 on speculation that Kirk Kerkorian’s investment group might add to its 10 percent stake in the carmaker and on talks between GM, Nissan and Renault concerning possible cooperation.

The New York equities markets were lower at midday on Thursday as the recent rally seemed to have run out of steam. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.2 percent lower to 11,667.06 after reaching 11,724.86 earlier in the session. The Nasdaq Composite had also dropped 0.2 percent to 2,255.72, while the S&P 500 had fallen 0.1 percent to 1,334.80.

In the semiconductors sector, Advanced Micro Devices and Nvidia were both lower as ThinkEquity lowered its recommendation on both from “buy” to “sell”. AMD was 2.1 percent lower to $24.80, while Nvidia declined 2.9 percent to $29.27.

Automakers were higher. General Motors gained 1.4 percent to $32.73 when Kirk Kerkorian said he was interested in purchasing 12 million more shares in GM. His Tracinda investment group already owns 10 percent of GM. Ford Motor added 2.3 percent to $32.73 on the announcement that its European division will likely see profits this year.

Discount retailers Family Dollar dropped 3.2 percent to $28.03 even though its earnings in the fourth-quarter were higher than had been expected. The declines came when the company said September sales will probably be lower than estimated.

Time Warner declined 2.5 percent to $25.15 on a downgrade from “overweight” to “neutral” by JPMorgan.

New York equities markets were higher at midday on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average close to its record closing high, set on January 14, 2000. The Dow was up 0.4 percent to 11,712, while the Nasdaq Composite was 0.35 percent higher to 2,269 and the S&P 500 1,339. The gains were helped by new data showing that new home sales were up in August that helped balance another drop in durable goods sales.

In the semiconductors sector, both Intel and Advanced Micro Devices were higher after an anti-trust suit filed against Intel by AMD was mostly dismissed by a federal judge. AMD was 0.7 percent higher, while Intel added 3 percent.

Merck was also helped out by a legal decision. The pharmaceutical company gained 1.6 percent after a New Orleans court ruling in a lawsuit over its Vioxx painkiller favored Merck.

General Motors was up 2.2 percent after a report in the Wall Street Journal said that GM wants a multi-billion dollar payment before it agrees to any sort of alliance between it and Nissan and Renault.

Altria was 1.9 percent higher as it tried to recover from a recent decline of 8 percent.

The New York equities markets were mixed at midday on Monday on news from several sectors. Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were lower, by 0.1 percent each to 11,497.13 and 1,314.15 respectively, while the Nasdaq Composite had added 0.2 percent to 2,222.94.

Crude oil futures that fell below $60 per barrel sent the oil sector lower. Marathon Oil dropped 2.7 percent to $69.25, while Pride International, an oil services group, fell 3 percent to $25.46. Archer Daniels Midland declined 4.2 percent to $36.85 on comments from an investment commentator that ethanol would never seriously challenge oil as a fuel.

Metals prices were also lower, sending shares in miners tumbling. Coeur d’Alene fell 2.8 percent to $4.44, while Phelps Dodge was 3.1 percent lower to $80.16.

The tobacco sector saw losses when a federal court judge in New York let a class-action suit representing users of “light” cigarettes proceed in the courts. Reynolds American fell 2.7 percent to $60.36, while Altria dropped 4.3 percent to $78.82.

Drug retailers continued to decline after last week’s announcement by Wal-Mart that it was starting a pilot program to sell generic prescription drugs at $4 for a thirty-day supply. CVS declined 4.7 percent to $31.48, while Walgreen’s dropped 4.8 percent to $44.63 even though it said it saw profits increase by 25 percent in it’s fiscal forth quarter.

The New York equities markets at midday on Friday seemed ready to close out the week with losses after data showing that the economy’s growth is slowing made more of an impact on investor sentiment than did the Federal Reserve’s decision Thursday to leave interest rates alone for another month.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.2 percent lower on the session at midday and 0.5 percent lower for the week to 11,506.26. The Nasdaq Composite had lost 0.8 percent on the day and 0.7 percent on the week to 2,219.11. The S&P 500 had dropped 0.3 percent for the day and 0.5 percent for the week to 1,313.80.

Software makers were mixed, with Oracle up 8 percent to $17.63 after Wednesday’s fiscal first quarter profits were reported to be up by 29 percent. Microsoft, on the other hand, dropped 0.6 percent to $26.69. That still left Microsoft 25 percent higher since June, however.

Yahoo was down 13.7 percent over the week, to $25.30, after it said that a slowdown in advertising revenue will mean that its third-quarter figures will only reach the low end of previous forecasts.

Computer maker Hewlett-Packard dropped 4.5 percent during the week on investor worries about the outcome of an investigation into leaks to the media that could leave the company open to legal action.

The slowing housing market affected more than one sector. Home Depot fell 3.9 percent to $35.78, for a total loss of 9.4 percent so far this year, on a downgrade from “outperform” to “neutral” from Credit Suisse. Meanwhile, plumbing and home accessories manufacturer Masco dropped 6 percent to $26.53 after it blamed a lowered earnings guidance for the year on the decline in new housing starts.

Wall Street was mixed at midday on Thursday. The Nasdaq Composite was 0.1 percent higher to 2,254.27, but the S&P 500 was 0.1 percent lower to 1,324.36 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average had dropped 0.2 percent to 11,592.38. The declines for the Dow and the S&P still left them near all-time and 5-year highs respectively.

An announcement from Wal-Mart that it will sell 30-day supplies of generic drugs for $4 in a trial program sent shares in drug retailers lower. Walgreen dropped 6 percent to $46.97, while CVS fell 9.2 percent to $32.18. The news also sent pharmacy benefit managers, the administrators for corporate and insurance prescription drug plans, lower. Medco Health Solutions dropped 3.4 percent to $60.75, while Caremark Rx was 4.3 percent lower to $56.56.

Carnival, the cruise ship operator, added 4.6 percent to $45.58 on better than expected third quarter earnings, mainly due to declining fuel costs.

Oil stocks were up as crude oil prices rose. BJ Services was 2.6 percent higher to $29.93, while Consol Energy added 5.9 percent to $30.78.

Food manufacturers saw gains on the strength of positive quarterly results. ConAgra, which makes Hebrew National hotdogs among other products, was 3.4 percent higher to $24.04, while breakfast cereal maker General Mills gained 3.7 percent to $54.97.

The New York equities markets were up Wednesday at midday as investors waited for the Federal Reserve to issue its latest decision on interest rates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6 percent to 11,603.91, while the Nasdaq Composite was 1.4 percent higher to 2,252.74 and the S&P 500 was also up 0.6 percent to 1,325.90. The S&P was at its highest level since February 2001, while the Dow was approaching its all-time high level.

Oil and oil-related companies were lower, however, as crude oil prices continued to decline. Halliburton was 2.7 percent lower to $28.32, while Marathon Oil dropped 3 percent to $71.26.

The tobacco sector was also lower as Reynolds American was 3.7 percent lower to $62.12 on a downgrade from “buy” to “hold” from Citigroup, which said that product shortages were driving consumers to other brands.

Plumber Masco declined by 2.1 percent to $26.77 after it revised its earnings guidance downward for this year based on the decrease in housing starts.

In the banking sector, however, investment banks saw gains on the day. Morgan Stanley added 0.9 percent to $72.51 on a 59 percent increase in third-quarter earnings, a better performance than had been anticipated. The news helped Bear Stearns, which gained 3.7 percent to $140.20, while Legg Mason was 4 percent higher to $100.87.

Oracle added 11.8 percent higher to $18.04 after it said that its fiscal first quarter profits were up by 29 percent, which its chief executive said was due to an increased market share.

Wall Street was lower by the middle of the session on Tuesday after new data showed that new housing starts were down sharply in August and Yahoo issued a profits warning. By midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.5 percent lower to 11,502.09, while the Nasdaq Composite had dropped 1.1 percent to 2,212.25 and the S&P 500 was 0.5 percent lower to 1,315.23.

The news that housing starts were down by 6 percent in August, double the expected drop, hurt the homebuilding sector. Centex and Toll Brothers each dropped 3.2 percent to $51.94 and $27.27 respectively.

Internet search engine Yahoo was 11.6 percent lower to $25.65 when its chief financial officer announced that this quarters results would only reach the lower levels of earlier predictions. The news also hurt Google, which fell 4.5 percent to $395.77.

Dow Jones, which publishes the Wall Street Journal, was also lower on a revised earnings guidance, dropping 2.5 percent to $33.02. In yet another lowered guidance, semiconductors company Maxim Integrated Products declined by 6.1 percent to $29.45.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, ImClone Systems fell 6.3 percent to $28.59 after a judged ruled that the process it used to come up with its cancer drug Erbitux was actually invented by three Israeli scientists, whose employer could be entitled to royalties due to ImClone’s use of the process.

The New York equities markets were up at midday on Monday, but investors were cautious a day ahead of the next meeting of the US Federal Reserve, which will decide whether or not to raise interest rates again after holding off on a hike last month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.2 percent higher to 11,579.18, while the Nasdaq Composite had added 0.5 percent to 2,245.93 and the S&P 500 was up 0.3 percent to 1,324.03.

Homebuilders were up, with Toll Brothers gaining 1.6 percent to $28.53 and Pulte up 1.7 percent to $32.50. The gains did not extend to home improvement retailer Home Depot, however, which dropped 1.5 percent to $36.68 on a downgrade from “outperform” to “neutral” from Credit Suisse.

The semiconductors sector was also higher. Nvidia was 2.9 percent higher to $30.41 and Advanced Micro Devices advanced by 3.3 percent to $27.40. Freescale Semiconductor added 5.7 percent to $39.29 after it was announced that it would be acquired by a private equity consortium. Meanwhile, chip making equipment manufacturer Applied Materials gained 3.4 percent to $17.78 on the announcement of another share buyback.

The possibility of cuts in production from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and a statement from Iran that claimed that its offer to halt its enrichment of uranium was misunderstood in the West sent shares in oil companies higher. ExxonMobil was 2 percent higher to $65.94, while Schlumberger added 2.8 percent to $57.84.

Ford Motor was down again, falling 2.2 percent to $7.84, as investors continued to react to an announcement Friday that among its cost-cutting measures would be the elimination of a third of its payroll.

New York equities markets were higher at mid-session on Friday on renewed consumer confidence as new data hinted at moderating inflation and as the price of crude oil continued to decline. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.4 percent to 11, 567.41, poised to end the week with a gain of 1.5 percent. The Nasdaq Composite had added 0.2 percent so far on the session to 2,233.51, up 3.1 percent on the week as a whole. The S&P 500 had added 0.2 percent at noon to 1,319.36, for a total gain of 1.6 percent this week.

All the news wasn’t positive, however. With commodities prices down, miners and the oil sector had a losing week. ExxonMobil was 3.3 percent lower to $64.60. Among miners, Newmont Mining fell 8.6 percent to $44.04, while Freeport McMoran dropped 10.6 percent $52.12. Even coal miners were lower, with Consol Energy declining 8.4 percent on the week to $30.41.

Ford Motor also ended the week lower after it said it will cut 14,000 salaried positions in an attempt to save $5 billion per year. The announcement spurred Merrill Lynch to lower its recommendation on Ford from “neutral” to “sell”. Shares in the carmaker were 9.2 percent lower over the week to $8.25.

Homebuilders had a good week, helped by declining yields on 10-year Treasury issues. DR Horton ended the week 10.2 percent higher to $24.25, while KB Home added 12.7 percent to $45.48.

The retail sector saw gains as well. Wal-Mart gained 3.5 percent to $48.36, while home improvement retailer Home Depot added 7.5 percent to $36.85. Electronics retailers were up after Best Buy reported better than anticipated growth in earnings in the second quarter. Best Buy was 15 percent higher during the week to $53.27, and Circuit City followed it higher, adding 12.6 percent to $25.78.