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.

Wall Street was higher on Wednesday after the US Federal Reserve voted to leave interest rates at 5.25 percent for another month. The accompanying statement pronounced the economy “somewhat firmer” and said that the Federal Open Market Committee, the Fed’s decision-making body, will continue to keep an eye on inflation.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, already up a bit before the decision, extended its gains to 0.7 percent to 12,607.67 by mid-afternoon. The Nasdaq Composite, lower before the announcement, was 0.4 percent higher to 2,457.81 afterwards. The S&P 500, steady earlier in the session, also added 0.4 percent, to 1,435.04.

Despite a fourth-quarter report that showed profits more than double, the Chicago Board of Trade dropped 0.4 percent to $168.40. Time Warner also saw declines, falling 0.9 percent to $21.84, even thought its profits were up by more than 30 percent in the fourth quarter.

In the tobacco sector, Altria dropped 0.3 percent to $87.27 even though its earnings in the fourth quarter were at $1.40 per share, significantly above the $1.23 per share that had been anticipated.

Eastman Kodak added 1.9 percent to $26 as it posted a profit in the fourth quarter, after having posted losses in the same quarter of 2005.

Bristol-Myers Squibb gained 2.5 percent to $28.74 on a report that Lehman Brothers will join Citigroup and Morgan Stanley to advise the pharmaceutical company of its options approaching a takeover bid that is expected from Sanofi Aventis.

The Dow gained on a 4.6 percent rise by Boeing to $89.98 after the aerospace firm raised its earnings guidance for this year after reporting earnings of $1.16 per share in the fourth quarter of 2006, better than the 98 cents per share that had been expected.

Wall Street was flat to slightly lower at mid-session on Tuesday on new data showing that US consumer confidence dropped to 105.4 in October, down from a revised reading of 105.9 in September. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.3 percent lower to 12,048.71, while the Nasdaq Composite was virtually flat after losing only 0.06 points to 2,363.71 and the S&P 500 fell 0.28 percent to 1,374.1.

In the tobacco sector, Altria fell 0.3 percent to $81.43 on the day that its Philip Morris division argues in front of the US Supreme Court in appeal to an $80 million verdict against it in an Oregon case.

Marathon Oil dropped 2.1 percent to $83.49 on profit taking even though it reported that profits were significantly higher in the quarter.

A UBS downgrade to “neutral” sent Verizon 2.6 percent lower to $36.66.

Proctor and Gamble dropped 0.9 percent to $63.21 even though profits were better than expected on improved margins and better sales in its Gillette unit.

Among gainers on the day was DaimlerChrysler, which added 4.1 percent to $57.33 on reports that it could sell its Chrysler division.

Celgene added 6.1 percent to $52.88 after an announcement Monday evening from Standard & Poor’s that the biotechnology company will replace AmSouth Bancorp on the S&P 500 after trade closes at the end of the week.

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 were generally lower by midday on Friday as the Labor Department released new data showing that fewer jobs were created in the US in June than had been predicted. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.7 percent to 11,149.50, a drop of 0.1 percent on the week. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.4 percent to 2,146.83, a decline of 1.2 percent over the week. The S&P 500 was nearly even, having lost only 1.16 points to 1,272.92, leaving it with a gain of 0.2 percent on the week.

The news that only 121,000 jobs had been created in the US in June was a disappointment after a gain of 200,000 had been predicted. The high expectations had been raised by Wednesday’s National Employment Report from payroll services company ADP, which said that 368,000 new jobs had been created during June. The Labor Department numbers, along with figures showing that higher than expected wage inflation during the month, made investors nervous.

Ebay dropped 7.9 percent to $26.99, largely on a downgrade from Citigroup, which lowered its target share price on the online auctioneer by over 20 percent to $40 earlier in the week. In addition, Ebay said that it was installing new senior executives in several divisions.

Changes in personnel also led to a decline for PMC Sierra in the semiconductors sector, as the chipmaker declined by 18.4 percent to $7.67 after it said its chief financial officer is leaving the company.

Climbing oil prices led to advances in the oil sector. ConocoPhillips added 4.9 percent during the week to $68.74, while Marathon Oil was up 5 percent to $87.50.

Also up on higher commodities prices was Newmont Mining, which was up 4.4 percent to $55.25.

Tobacco companies also saw gains on the week after the Florida Supreme Court set aside a $145 billion dollar punitive damages award against the US tobacco industry. Reynolds American added 1.6 percent to $117.19, while Altria gained 5.5 percent to $77.45.

At midday on Thursday, New York equities markets were up after new data showed that the US economy was moderating but not falling off sharply when the Institute for Supply Management’s non-manufacturing index dropped more than had been expected in June. By mid-session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.8 percent to 11,237.15, while the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 had each added 0.4 percent, to 2,160.99 and 1,275.86 respectively.

In the retail sector, Costco declined by 2.7 percent to $55.29 on sales figures that were lower than expected in June. Elsewhere in the sector things were better, with Target up 1.4 percent to $48.94. TJX, which owns TJ Maxx and Marshall’s, added 3.5 percent to $23.00. Dollar General advanced by 4 percent to $14.39.

The energy sector was mixed. Peoples Energy was up 8.4 percent to $38.99 on the news that it is talking to WPS Resources about a merger. The news sent WPS down 4.5 percent to $47.92. In other mergers and acquisitions news, Peabody Energy added 5 percent after it said it would buy Australian coal company Excel coal. The Peabody announcement helped rival Arch Coal to advanced 2.3 percent to $43.22.

With the announcement that the Florida Supreme Court has upheld a lower court ruling that threw out a $145 billion damage award against the tobacco industry, tobacco stocks were up substantially. Reynolds American added 4.1 percent to $119.01, while Altria was up 6.6 percent to $78.19, its biggest one-day gain since November 2004.

Wall Street managed a rally late in the day on Wednesday that took the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 higher but left the Nasdaq Composite essentially unchanged on the day. The Dow gained 0.2 percent to 11,005.74 and the S&P was also up 0.2 percent, to 1,278.47. The Nasdaq closed at 2,267.46.

The New York Stock Exchange went public for the first time in its 213-year history and saw its shares rise 24.5 percent during the day to $80. Rival exchanges, however, were down on the day, with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange down 0.6 percent to $419.74 and the Chicago Board of Trade losing 2.9 percent to $118.04.

Auction house Sothebys was up 12.2 percent to $23.40, a five-year high close, on a report of higher earnings due to an active art market.

Google dropped 2.90 percent to $353.88 on a lowered share price target, down to $490 from $500, from Goldman Sachs which nevertheless reiterated its “buy” recommendation for the internet search engine. The lowered target came after Google told investors that they should ignore an internal financial forecast that was posted on the company’s website by mistake.

In other sectors, Altria, which makes Marlboro cigarettes, was up 1.2 percent to $72.65, while Proctor & Gamble was up 1.3 percent to $61.07.