Wall Street was higher in early afternoon trade Monday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average had added 0.63 percent to 13,264.5, while the Nasdaq Composite was 0.29 percent higher to 2,518.56 and the S&P 400 was up 0.69 percent to 1,442.9.
The Russell 2000 index had gained 0.06 percent to 755.84.
Trade in shares of American Home Mortgage (NYSE: AHM) were halted after it had lost most of its market capitalization in the past few sessions, laid off nearly all its employees last Friday and today filed for bankruptcy protection in Delaware.
Elsewhere in the sector, however, Countrywide Financial (NYSE: CFC) added 47 cents to $25.48.
Investment banker Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) dropped $3.32 to $105.03 in the wake of last week’s reduced ratings outlook from Standard & Poor’s and after it fired an executive over the weekend.
On the other hand, other members of the financial services sector were higher.
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) was 35 cents higher to $47.35, while JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) added 65 cents to $44.30, Citigroup (NYSE: C) gained 82 cents to $46.54, Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) was up $1.42 to $34.23 and Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER) added $2.02 to $72.07.
There were also gains in the pharmaceuticals sector, where Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) was 7 cents higher to $28.07, Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) gained 39 cents to $23.90 and Merck (NYSE: MRK) was 80 cents higher to $51.09.
Merck’s gains came on a broker upgrade.
In the retail sector, Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) added $1.03 to $46.55 after it said that it is putting together a joint business-to-business venture in India.