New York equities markets were mixed on the day on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.2 percent to 10,473.09 and the S&P 500 gained 0.1 percent to 1,216.89, but the Nasdaq composite lost 0.1 percent to 2,115.40.
Significant gains were seen in the payroll and human services outsourcing sector as payroll company Paychex gained 9.3 percent to $37.25 on an announcement that it has had a 31 percent increase in profits and on a positive forecast for the upcoming quarter.
This good news helped rival Ceridian gain 2.6 percent to $20.74, while Automatic Data Processing rose 2.2 percent to $43.13 and Administaff was up 4 percent to $37.96. Administaff has gained nearly 200 percent so far this year.
Rising oil prices helped out the oil sector as Kerr-McGee was up 1.4 percent to $96.89, although ExxonMobil only gained 0.1 percent to $64.70. Auto-parts manufacturer Delphi lost 3.6 percent to $2.65 as it was in talks with General Motors aimed at restructuring GM so that the carmaker can avoid bankruptcy. GM, meanwhile, gained 0.2 percent to $30.84 on a 3-year agreement with labor unions to derail a possible strike.
Elsewhere, Eastman Kodak fell 0.5 percent to $24.89 on less-than-anticipated profits from digital photography. Apple Computer lost 4.4 percent to $51.80 on reports of defective screens on its new iPod nano.