Wall Street was higher in early afternoon trade Tuesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.04 percent higher to 13,126.39, while the Nasdaq Composite had added 0.48 percent to 2,520.55 and the S&P 500 was up 0.25 percent to 1,449.22.

The oil sector declined as oil prices fell below $70 per barrel in New York as Hurricane Dean weakened with no lasting damage to oil production facilities in the Gulf of Mexico.

Chevron (NYSE: CVX) was 20 cents lower to $84.69, while ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) dropped $1.21 to $78.65 and ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) fell $1.28 to $83.25.

The declining oil prices sent AMR (NYSE: AMR), the parent company of American Airlines, $1.34 higher to $23.55.

Most banks were higher after Senate Banking Committee Chairman and Democratic presidential candidate Christopher Dodd said after a meeting with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson that that Mr. Bernanke said that he was willing to do whatever necessary to calm the markets.

This led some analysts to speculate that there will soon be a cut in US interest rates.

While JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM; TYO: 8634) was 1 cent lower to $46.48, Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) had added 31 cents to $62.97, Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER; TYO: 8675) was up 74 cents to $75.64 and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) had gained $3.74 to $176.50.

The telecommunications sector was also higher.

Sprint-Nextel (NYSE: S) was 15 cents higher to $18.41, while AT&T (NYSE: T) had added 46 cents to $39.11.

The New York equities markets were lower at midday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.69 percent lower to 13,858.80, while the Nasdaq Composite had dropped 0.54 percent to 2,676.18 and the S&P 500 was down 0.69 percent to 1,530.96.

Part of the declines came as quarterly reports disappointed.

In the chemicals sector, DuPont (NYSE: DDPRA, DDPRB, DD) reported that profits did not grow in the second quarter even as sales were better overseas.

DuPont had dropped $2.96 to $50.30 by mid-session.

Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) fell $1.32 to $36.86 as it reported profits lower than the same time last year.

Fast food chain McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD) was 33 cents lower to $52.17 after it reported a losing quarter on a charge growing out of its sale of Latin American outlets.

AT&T (NYSE: T) was 18 cents higher to $40.21 after it said that its earnings were up by 61 percent in the second quarter, but reported that fewer Apple iPhone numbers than had been anticipated were activated following the new phone’s release.

Apple (NAS: AAPL) dropped $3.88 to $139.82 on the news of fewer iPhone activations and ahead of its quarterly report, due on Wednesday.

Companies exposed to bad loans were lower.

American Express (NYSE: AXP) dropped $1.94 to $62.72 after it reported an increase in write-downs on bad loans in the second quarter.

Meanwhile, mortgage lender Countrywide Financial (NYSE: CFC) fell $3.08 to $30.98 after it reported significantly lower profits in the second quarter and cut its earnings forecast.

Even though more corporations issued positive quarterly reports, Wall Street was lower at midday on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.4 percent lower to 12,570.66, while the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.7 percent to 2,449.10 and the S&P 500 had dropped 0.57 percent to 1,431.92. The Russell 2000 index of small-caps dropped 0.82 percent to 787.55.

Investor sentiment was not helped by a new report from the National Assoication of Realtors that existing homes sales dropped by 0.8 percent in December. The inventory of existing homes for sale also fell, however, by 7.9 percent to 3.51 million. In addition, the Labor Department said that new jobless claims grew last week at their highest rate in 16 months.

Quarterly reports were released by companies in a number of sectors. Online auctioneer Ebay added $2.88 to $32.88 after it said its profits were up by 24 percent and sales grew by 29 percent in its most recent quarter. Nokia reported that profits were up by 19 percent, gaining 79 cents to $21 on the session so far. AT&T gained 26 cents to $36.89 on profits that were up 17 percent on more wireless subscribers.

Even though Ford Motor said it withstood its largest annual loss ever amid declining sales, the carmaker added 10 cents to $8.30 as investors were relieved that the news wasn’t worse.

Lockheed Martin added 81 cents to $91.95 on a quarterly report that showed earnings up by 28 percent on growth in its military hardware division. The defense contractor raised its full-year forecast on the basis on the new figures.

The New York equities markets were higher on Wednesday afternoon, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.4 percent to 12,190.12. The Nasdaq Composite had gained 0.4 percent as well, to 2,421.54, while the S&P 500 was 0.6 percent higher to 1,394.62. Gains came after the US Commerce Department said that the US economy grew at a 2.2 percent annualized rate in the third quarter, above the 1.6 percent growth rate estimated last month.

There were gains in the telecommunications sector. Verizon added 1.8 percent to $35 after AG Edwards raised its rating from “hold” to “buy”. AT&T gained 3 percent to $33.77 on the announcement that its high-speed internet service will be available at Wal-Mart stores in 13 states. Bell South and Qwest Communications were each 3.4 percent higher, to $44.34 and $7.86 respectively. Bell South said it will introduce a toll-free telephone service for homes, while Goldman Sachs took Qwest off its “least favorite” list.

The oil sector saw gains as crude oil prices advanced. ExxonMobil, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips all were up by 1.6 percent, with ExxonMobil at $75.37, Chevron at $70.96, and ConocoPhillips trading at $65.91.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, Pfizer added 0.2 percent to $27.11 after it said it will lay off 2,000 sales representatives in the US, a job cut of around 20 percent of its sales force in the States.

The New York equities markets were mixed at midday on Thursday on news from corporate earnings reports and new data from the Philadelphia Fed that showed its manufacturing index down 0.7 percent in October when an advance had been predicted. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.15 percent higher to 12,011, while the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.1 percent to 2,339.57 and the S&P 500 was just 0.01 percent lower to 1,365.

Among gainers on the day were Apple Computer, which added 6.35 percent to $79.26 on higher net income on sales of both Macintosh computers and iPod music players. Also up were Yahoo, 1.1 percent higher to $23.24 and UPS, which added 4.23 percent to $75.54 on higher earnings. AT&T was up 2.9 percent to $33.89 on an upgrade from Lehman Brothers.

The semiconductors sector was significantly lower. Cypress Semiconductor was 9.1 percent lower to $17.24 on the announcement that is no longer thinking of selling. Advanced Micro Devices dropped 10.4 percent to $21.72 after it said Wednesday that its gross margins were down. AMD added, however, that it expects higher demand and sales in the fourth quarter. Intel declined a lesser 1.1 percent to $20.88 on quarterly earnings that were lower.

Other losers on the session included McDonalds, down 1.4 percent to $40.90 despite meeting its revised guidance. Citigroup dropped 0.8 percent to $49.79 on lower net income in its third quarter. In addition, General Electric was down 0.9 percent to $35.56 on the news that its NBC Universal entertainment unit will make cost-cutting moves.

The New York equities markets were up on Friday and on track to have their best week in over six months. At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.1 percent to 11,219.32, an advance of 3.2 percent during the week. The Nasdaq Composite had gained 1.3 percent to 2,081.67, gaining 3 percent on the week. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 was also up 1.1 percent on the day so far to 1,276.48, up 2.9 percent over the week.

Automakers had a good week. General Motors was up 11.4 percent in the course of the week to $32.29 even though its quarterly report showed a loss of $3.2 billion in consequence of the company’s employee buy-out plan. Without that expense, the car company’s operating profit was $1.2 billion in the quarter, better than had been expected. The news helped Ford, which saw an 8.4 percent gain on the week to $6.81.

In the telecommunications sector, AT&T added 10.4 percent to end the week at $30.19 after its second quarter report showed that earnings had rise by 81 percent, largely due to Cingular Wireless.

Oil and oil services companies also saw gains on the week. ExxonMobil was up 4.7 percent to $66.91 after it said that its quarterly profits was over $10 billion, up 36 percent. BJ Services, meanwhile, gained 15.2 percent this week to $34.62 on profits that were up by 86 percent in their third quarter.

There were losers on the week. Corning dropped 12.6 percent to $19.41on a warning that sales in the third quarter are not likely to rise to analysts forecasts. The problem is an increase in inventories of its liquid crystal display glass. Elsewhere, Amazon fell 19.4 percent during the week, bringing its decline since the first of the year to 43 percent. The internet retailer closed out the week at $26.75.

A falling transportation sector led the New York equities markets lower by midday on Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3 percent to 11,018.64, while the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 each had dropped by 0.2 percent, to 2,058.46 and 1,258.22 respectively.

United Parcel Service fell 14.5 percent to $68.44, its worst ever one-day performance. The decline came after its quarterly report did not meet expectations and it said that full-year earnings would only reach the low end of what has been forecast. The problems of Ups dragged the rest of the sector down as well. Federal Express dropped 2.7 percent to $107.50, while Burlington Northern Santa Fe declined by 4.5 percent to $66.67 and Expeditors International was 4.8 percent lower to $46.

The telecommunications sector, on the other hand, was up after AT&T said that its second quarter earnings were up by 81 percent. AT&T gained 4.4 percent to $28.99, while BellSouth added 4.8 percent to $37.95. BellSouth is scheduled to be purchased by AT&T later in the year.

In the technology sector, Sandisk added 14.8 percent to $37.95 after it reported that strong sales of memory cards for mobile phones sent profits up 36 percent in the quarter. Meanwhile, Texas Instruments reported that its earnings were up by 27 percent in the quarter, sending its shares 4.3 percent higher to $29.03.

BJ Services added 5.5 percent to $32.76 on third-quarter profits that were up by 86 percent.

The New York equities markets had a mixed week on concerns about inflation and interest rates, although new employment data released on Friday pointed to continuing economic growth. At midday on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1 percent to 11,083.46, the Nasdaq Composite had gained 0.5 percent to 2,261.64, and the S&P 500 had risen by 0.8 percent to 1,281.90. However, this brought weekly numbers to a 0.5 percent gain for the Dow, but losses of 0.4 percent for the S&P and 1.8 percent for the Nasdaq.

Internet search engine Google lost 10.7 percent on the week to $337.69 after a snafu saw an internal financial forecast posted on the company’s website.

The telecommunications sector was mixed after AT&T’s bid for BellSouth led to speculation about more consolidation in the sector. AT&T lost 3.3 percent for the week to $27.06, but BellSouth gained 9.5 percent to $34.45 on the bid news and on an upgrade from Bear Stearns. Elsewhere in the sector, Verizon was up 1.8 percent, Alltel gained 1.8 percent to $34.17, and Sprint Nextel grew by 2.7 percent to $66.03.

Technology stocks were down on the week. Intel dropped 1.8 percent to $19.96. Texas Instruments fell 3.5 percent to $31.16. National Semiconductor declined by 5.2 percent to $27.80, and Advanced Micro Devices was down 6.7 percent to $36.88.

General Motors had a good week, gaining 12.1 percent to $21.53.

The New York equities markets were mixed at midday on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite up slightly but the S&P 500 down a bit on losses in the energy sector.

The Dow was up 0.1 percent by mid-session to 11,028.71. The Nasdaq had risen by 0.2 percent to 2,306.96. The S&P, however, was down 0.1 percent to 1,286.58.

Mergers and acquisitions provided much of the day’s activity. AT&T lost 1.4 percent to $27.61 on a weekend announcement that it will purchase BellSouth for $67 billion, making AT&T the world’s largest telecommunications company. The loss came despite an upgrade from “market perform” to “outperform” by Wachovia Securities. BellSouth, with an upgrade from Bear Stearns, gained 11 percent to $34.72.

Elsewhere in the sector, Verizon dropped 0.1 percent to $33.54. Qwest Communications, which is seen as another takeover target, gained 4.6 percent to $6.98. Alltel was up 4 percent to $66.86, while Sprint Nextel rose by 3.2 percent to $24.97.

General Motors was up 4.3 percent to $20.04 on the news that Suzuki Motor has agreed to buy out its 17 percent of the company for $2 billion, money GM will use in its restructuring efforts.

General Electric, meanwhile, agreed to purchase iVillage. GE was up 0.5 percent on the announcement to $33.22 and iVillage gained 5 percent to $8.38.