Equities markets in New York saw gains at midday on Thursday.

The Dow Jones Industrial average had added 1.2 percent to 13,739.47 after having reached a new high at 13,744.92 earlier in the session, while the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.9 percent to 2,674.8 and the S&P 500 gained 0.9 percent as well, to 1,532.81.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, Merck (NYSE: MRK) added 2.4 percent to $50.09 on a broker upgrade.

On the other hand, biotechnology group Genentech (NYSE: DNA) dropped 1.9 percent to $74.46 even though it said its earnings were up by 41 percent in the second quarter.

The retail sector was mixed ahead of data on June sales, which will be released on Friday, but most were higher at mid-session.

The main exception was Macy’s (NYSE: M), which dropped 3.5 percent to $39 after it said that sales were slower than had been expected and reduced its earnings outlook for the second quarter.

Elsewhere in the sector, Wal-Mart (NSYE: WMT) added 2.1 percent to $48.70 after it said sales were up by 2.4 percent. JC Penney (NYSE: JCP) gained 3.2 percent to $73.46, while Target (NYSE: TGT) was up 3.7 percent to $68.01.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE: AEO) was 6.2 percent higher to $27.63 on a gain of 5.7 percent in same-store sales in June.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) added 7.5 percent to $74.59.

Alcan (TSX: AL; NYSE: AL) was 10.6 percent higher to $99.05 after miner Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO) offered $38.1 billion in cash for the aluminium producer.

Rival Alcoa (NYSE: AA), which had also bid for Alcan but had that offer rejected, was up 7.4 percent to $45.55.

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).