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.

The New York equities markets were lower in early afternoon trade after the US Labor Department released new data showing that 92,000 jobs were created in July, lower than the 135,000 new jobs that had been expected and less than the 132,000 new jobs created in June.

Unemployment was up to 4.6 percent in July after a reading of 4.5 percent in June.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.6 percent lower to 13,380.99, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.8 percent to 2,555.59 and the S&P 500 had dropped 0.9 percent to 1,458.85.

American Home Mortgage (NYSE: AHM) was 67 cents lower to 78 cents, down from around $10 a week ago, after it announced Thursday that it had stopped taking applications for mortgages and was laying off most of its 7,000 employees, effective today.

Countrywide Financial (NYSE: CFC) dropped $1.38 to $25.39.

Elsewhere in the financial sector, Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) fell $3.28 to $112.35 after Standard & Poor’s cut its credit rating to negative on fears that earnings will fall.

In the automobile manufacturing sector General Motors (NYSE: GM) dropped 79 cents to $32.60, but US-traded shares of Toyota (NYSE: TM; LSE: TYT; TYO 7203.T) were up 94 cents to $119.53.

Among consumer goods manufacturers, Proctor & Gamble fell 31 cents to $62.98 after it dropped its full-year profit prediction slightly.

Wall Street was higher in early afternoon trade on Monday as it tried to overcome last week’s declines.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 57.7 points to 13,324.6, while the Nasdaq Composite had added 9.8 points to 2,572 and the S&P 500 was 6.2 points higher to 1,465.

Home Depot (NYSE: HD) was the biggest gainer on the Dow, adding 79 cents to $37.54.

Rival home improvement retailer Lowe’s (NYSE; LOW) was up 38 cents to $28.15.

Elsewhere in the retail sector, drug store chain Rite Aid (NYSE: RAD) had gained 2 cents to $5.40, while discount retailer Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) was up 20 cents to $46.14.

Aerospace group Boeing (NYSE: BA) also helped the Dow as it added $2.12 to $105.83.

Some banks were higher.

JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) gained 6 cents to $44.29, while Citigroup (NYSE: C) was up 18 cents to $47.15, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) had added 41 cents to $47.82, and Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) gained 69 cents to $34.25.

On the other hand, mortgage lender Countrywide Financial (NYSE: CFC) was 96 cents lower to $28.89.

American Home Mortgage Investment Corp (NYSE: AHM) had trading halted before the market opened after it fell $6.39, or 39 percent, to $10.47 in premarket trading after it delayed its quarterly dividend.

Friday it said it was “struggling” due to the crisis in the subprime sector.

The New York equities markets saw declines on Thursday after two leading mortgage lenders said that more people were defaulting on home loans. At noon, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had dropped 0.4 percent to 12,612.47. The Nasdaq Composite was also 0.4 percent lower, to 2,481.90, while the S&P 500 fell 0.3 percent to 1,445.26.

The retail sector was mixed. Gap added 2.9 percent to $19.81 after it said that its sales are up. On the other hand, Costco dropped 0.3 percent to $56.34 after steeper declines earlier after underlying sales were reported to be up only 2 percent in January, below expected levels.

In the media sector, Walt Disney dropped 1 percent to $35.10 on profit-taking after Wednesday’s report that its net income more than doubled in the quarter. Meanwhile, Warner Music fell 4.7 percent to $20.50 after it reported that its fiscal first quarter profits were down 74 percent.

Declines in the financial sector followed reports from HSBC and New Century Financial, two large subprime mortgage lenders, that defaults are on the rise. New Century fell to $21.64. Other subprime lenders that saw declines were American Home Mortgage Investments, which dropped 6.9 percent to $33.50 and Accredited Home Lenders, down 7.6 percent to $26.81. Elsewhere in the banking sector, JP Morgan and Wells Fargo each were 1 percent lower, to $50.71 and $35.55 respectively, while Lehman Brothers dropped 1.7 percent to $84.14.

Finance and money

The online sector for finance has seen a boom over the past few years, as consumers have been given wider access to a wider range of financial products. Key areas of growth have been mainline financial services - insurance, mortgages, and loans.

Niche finance products and providers have also benefited from the growth in online marketing of finance packages, but it’s the big financial providers who have mostly benefited.

For example, Direct Line Car Insurance used to be available through only a select group of brokers with high street offices. Now consumers can log onto the internet and find it provided at a whole range of online providers.

Basic insurance services have also seen a rising take up for online sales - home insurance, and other house insurance services, have seen especially strong take up due to the required nature in protecting house and home - not simply against theft, but also loss and damage.

What especially empowers home consumers is the ability to make product decisions on their own, without the need for a broker. For instance, when searching for a mortgage, a consumer armed with basic information on mortgage rates can determine monthly repayments using a mortgage calculator. This helps the consumer in allowing themselves to make an informed choice, and the broker can focus simply on closing the sale, rather than investing time in offering it.

The same principle applies for loan applications - consumers can simply look at whether they need an unsecured or a secured loan - and make a purchasing decision based on the loan information they can collect online.