Wall Street saw gains at midday on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.35 percent to 12,520.91, the Nasdaq Composite 0.41 percent higher to 2,441.12, and the S&P 500 adding 0.34 percent to 1,427.75. The Russell 2000 index of small-caps was up even more, gaining 1.01 percent to 785.82. Volume at mid-session was at 712.8 million shares.
The banking sector was mixed. Bank of America was 40 cents lower to $53.25 even though it said its loan business was up and that its purchase of credit-card company MNBA helped profit in the fourth quarter. Wachovia was up , but only by 4 cents to $56.3 even though issued a better than anticipated report.
In the oil sector, higher prices due to forecasts of colder weather sent Chevron up 97 cents to $72.21, while ExxonMobil gained $1.12 to $74.03 and ConocoPhillips added $1.41 to $64.78.
Telecommunications equipment makers saw declines. Tellabs was 4 cents lower to $10.06, while Alcatel-Lucent fell $1.17 to $13.03. Alcatel-Lucent blamed its inability to make a profit in its first quarter after consolidation on integration costs and weak sales.
In the semiconductors sector, Texas Instruments added $1.17 to $29.76 on a positive quarterly report and several broker upgrades.
Even though it reached analysts’ expectations, chemicals company DuPont dropped $1.23 to $48.87 on concerns about the higher cost of raw materials.