Wall Street was lower in early afternoon trade on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.21 percent to 12,133.64, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.16 percent to 2,375 and the S&P 500 was 0.15 percent lower to 1,390.15. All three indices were headed for losses on the week, as well. Much of the heavy trade volumes had to do with the quarterly expiration of stock index and single stock futures as well as stock index and stock options.

Investment banks took losses on the week even though they have recently reported results that are better than had been anticipated. Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH), hurt by its exposure to the subprime mortgage sector, looked to be ready to end the week 5.8 percent lower to $71.44 after being down by 10 percent at one point on Tuesday. Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) was 1.2 percent lower to $199.21.

Retailers were down on the week, as well. Wal-Mart (NYSE WMT) dropped 2.7 percent to $46.13 as it withdrew its application to operate a bank. Target (NYSE: TGT) fell 3.9 percent to $59.49.

US carmakers also saw declines. Ford Motor was 4.7 percent lower to $7.56, while General Motors (NYSE: GM) dropped 4.8 percent to $29.50. GM’s decline came despite fourth quarter profits and revenues, as investors worried about how a possible slowdown in the economy would affect sales.

Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW) added 5 percent to $45.17 on rumors that it was looking to enter a joint venture with Reliance Industries (NSE: RELIANCE) of India.

The Chicago Board of Trade (NYSE: BOT) was up 12.8 percent to $190.50 after the Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE) made an unsolicited bid just as CBOT was about to complete a merger with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (NYSE: CME).

In New York on Wednesday, early afternoon saw the equities markets lower, but the declines were not as large as those elsewhere in the world. The Dow Jones Industrial Average had dropped 0.23 percent to 12,048.72, while the Nasdaq Composite was 0.07 percent lower to 2,348.93 and the S&P 500 had fallen 0.09 percent to 1,376.77.

Stocks in financial sectors continued to decline on worries about the subprime mortgage sector. Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) was 2.3 percent lower to $139.73 ahead of a profits report due to be released Thursday. Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) released results that were about where analysts had expected them to be, but when it said that profits had been limited somewhat by weakness in the subprime sector it still fell 3.7 percent to $69.34.

General Motors (NYSE: GM) dropped 2.4 percent even though it reported that it had seen improvements in its automobile manufacturing but that the results included two months of weak performance from its Gmac financial arm that GM sold last year.

In the retail sector, Target (NYSE: TGT) was 3 percent lower to $58.65 and JC Penney (NYSE: JCP) fell $3.5 percent to $77.43 on shaky investor confidence concerning consumer spending.

In the software sector, Microsoft (NAS: MSFT) was 1.7 percent higher on the announcement that it will buy Tellme Networks, a privately held company that deals in voice-recognition technology.

At midday in New York on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average held even at 12,273.12. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite had added 0.1 percent to 2,388.94, while the S&P 500 0.1 was percent lower to 1,400.93.

The mortgage sector continued to have problems after trading was suspended for New Century Financial (NYSE: NEW) after it said it could not afford to repurchase defaulting mortgages as its creditors demanded. New Century’s shares were down 42 percent to $1.87 in electronic trade before the markets opened, at which time it was no longer being quoted.

Elsewhere among mortgage lenders, NovaStar (NYSE: NFI) dropped 13 percent to $4.56. Meanwhile, Countrywide (NYSE: CFC) said that it could see its earnings affected by the problems in the subprime mortgage market. The announcement, along with a downgrade from “market perform” to “underperform” from Wachovia Securities, sent Countrywide 3 percent lower to $35.03.

The homebuilding sector was also hurt by the upheaval among mortgage lenders. DR Horton (NYSE: DHI) fell 3.9 percent to $23.47.

In the retail sector, Dollar General (NYSE: DG) was 25.9 percent higher to $21.13 after it said it had accepted an offer of $22 per share from private equity group Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, 31 percent higher than Dollar General’s Friday close.

In other mergers and acquisitions news, insurer United Health (NYSE: UNH) said it would spend $2.6 billion to purchase Sierra Health Services (NYSE: SIE). Sierra gained 15.8 percent to $41.56 on the news.

In New York, midday saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 all 0.2 percent higher. The Dow stood at 12,283.21, 1.4 percent higher for the week. The Nasdaq was at 2,391.51, while the S&P had added 1.3 percent on the week to 1,404.76.

Mortgage lender New Century Financial (NYSE: NEW) lost more than 18 percent to $3.05 after it said it was no longer accepting loan applications due to lack of support from its creditors. Many analysts expect the lender to enter bankruptcy soon.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), which lends money to New Century, managed to gain 5.6 percent over the week anyway, to $75.62. Meanwhile, Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) added 6.6 percent this week to $75.79.

Steel makers also saw substantial gains on the week. US Steel (NYSE: X) was 5.9 percent higher to $91.08, while Nucor (NYSE: NUE) gained 10.9 percent to $64.19. Nucor made positive comments pertaining to coming demand for steel.

Tire maker Goodyear (NYSE: GT), up 26 percent so far this year, added 5.6 percent during the week to $28.76. The gains were explained by analysts as the result of a new study showing that Americans have begun replacing the tires on their cars more frequently.

Declines came in sectors as diverse as the internet and retail. Internet search engine Yahoo (NAS: YHOO) dropped 5.4 percent to $29.04 on rumors that it is talking to AT&T (NYSE: T) about changes in their partnership. Meanwhile, warehouse retailer Costco (NAS: COST) fell 2.9 percent to $54.12 on new sales and profits data that did not please analysts.

The New York equities markets were mostly steady at midday. Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were even, at 12,211.43 and 1,394.66 respectively, while the Nasdaq Composite was 0.3 percent lower to 2,377.45. Shares in oil companies were higher as crude oil prices gained after new inventories reports showed that crude stockpiles fell by more than expected last week. Investor sentiment was hurt, however, by data showing that job growth in the private sector was not as robust as had been hoped.

In the oil sector, Chevron (NYSE: CVX) added 1.3 percent to $68.52, while ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) was 2.2 percent higher to $67.15. While crude oil inventories dropped significantly against expectations of an advance last week, most of the decline was due to bad weather on the US Gulf Coast and inventories are expected to rebound this week.

Computer related stocks were mixed. Internet search engine Google (NAS: GOOG; LSE: GGEA) was down 0.3 percent at midday to $456.18 even though UBS (NYSE: UBS; SWX: UBSN; TYO: 8657) issued an upgrade to “buy”, from “neutral” on the company’s shares. IBM (NYSE: IBM) was 0.3 percent higher to $94.12 but Cisco (NAS: CSCO; SEHK: 4333) dropped 1 percent to $25.69 on reports that the two companies were collaborating on software development projects.

In the retail sector, American Eagle Outfitters (NAS: AEOS) fell 3.8 percent to $28.69 after the clothing retailer did not meet earnings estimates. On the other hand, office supply retailer Office Depot (NYSE: ODP) added 2.1 percent to $34.35 on an upgrade from “hold” to “buy” from Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB).

The New York equities markets joined the gains made by other global markets on Tuesday. At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.8 percent higher to 12,148.78, while the Nasdaq Composite added 1.4 percent to 2,373.72 and the S&P 500 gained 1.1 percent to 1,388.56.

Financial sectors did well on the day. Citgroup (NYSE: C) added 1.3 percent to $49.87 after it bid $10.75 billion for Nikko Cordial (TYP: 8603; SGX: N06), Japan’s third largest brokerage, which has been beset by an accounting scandal recently. Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) was 3 percent higher to $148.85 and Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) gained 3.7 percent to $73.77, both helped by the day’s gains in worldwide equities markets.

Mortgage lenders were higher, as well. Countrywide (NYSE: CFC) added 3.5 percent to $36.42. Meanwhile, subprime lender New Century Financial (NYSE: NEW) added 27.9 percent to $5.83. New Century had lost nearly two-thirds of its share value on Monday.

Food, beverage and tobacco group Altria (NYSE: MO) gained 2.5 percent to $84.28 on an upgrade from “hold” to “buy” from Deutsche Bank.

Among technology companies, Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) also was on the receiving end of positive broker comment when Bear Stearns raised its recommendation on the chip maker to “outperform”. TI added 1.9 percent to $31.50. Meanwhile, internet search engine Google (NAS: GOOG; LSE: GGEA) gained 2.1 percent to $450.07 and computer maker Apple (NAS: AAPL; LSE: ACP; FWB: APC) was 1.9 percent higher to $87.95.