House builders were mixed on Wall Street Thursday after the Commerce Department said that sales of new homes rose by 4.8 percent in September over August’s numbers.

The news initially sent markets higher, but the indices returned to declines on the reality that the increase had more to do with a revision lower in August’s numbers and discounted prices on homes in September in an attempt to sell inventory than with a real rise in sales.

At midday in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.26 percent lower to 13,639.08.

The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.84 percent to 2,751.43 while the S&P 500 was down 0.34 percent to 1,510.69.

Durable goods orders that were down by 1.7 percent in September, a bigger drop than had been anticipated, also weighed on the markets.

The mixed results among house builders also had to do with quarterly results.

Pulte Homes (NYSE: PHM) was down 29 cents to $14.70 after it said it lost $787.9 million in the quarter on a pre-tax charge and new orders that were down 37 percent from the previous year at the same time.

Elsewhere in the sector, KB Home (NYSE: KBH) dropped 27 cents to $26.54, but Lennar (NYSE: LEN) and Beazer Homes (NYSE: BZH) each added 26 cents to $22.84 and $10.27 respectively.

The Nasdaq was hurt by a decline by software group Symantec (NAS: SYMC), which dropped $2.51 to $18.51 on a disappointing outlook.

Also on the Nasdaq, cable television and internet service provider Comcast (NAS: CMCSA) fell $1.85 to $22 after it said profits were down by 54 percent in the third quarter amid a competitive environment.

Wall Street was up in early afternoon trade on Monday after declines earlier in the day.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.17 percent to 13,545.43, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.81 percent to 2,747.17 and the the S&P 500 was 0.23 percent higher to 1,504.04.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, Merck (NYSE: MRK) added $1.21 to $54.32 after it reported that profits were up by 62 percent in the third quarter, boosted by ales of asthma and allergy drugs, blood pressure medicines, cholesterol drugs and a number of vaccines, including one for the prevention of cervical cancer.

The only bad news was that the drug maker still faces liability over its Vioxx anti-inflammatory drug which was taken off the market after being implicated in cardiovascular events in patients who took it.

Elsewhere in the sector, Schering-Plough (NYSE: SGP) dropped $4.29 to $28.42 after turning in a quarterly report that was not up to investors’ expectations.

Meanwhile Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) was 3 cents lower to $24.04.

Home builders were doing well in early afternoon trade, with several builders recording gains in the near-7 percent to nearly 8.5 percent range.

Beazer Homes (NYSE: BZH) was up 76 cents to $9.82, while DR Horton (NYSE: DHI) was 88 cents higher to $12.83 and Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE: HOV) had gained 89 cents to $11.44.

Pulte Homes (NYSE: PHM) added 94 cents to $14.62 and Lennar (NYSE: LEN) was up $1.39 to $21.08, while Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) jumped $1.56 to $22.08.

Wall Street dropped at midday on Tuesday as crude oil prices continued to rise and on comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke Monday night that the housing market is a “significant drag” on the economy.

In addition, investors expected more bad news concerning the housing sector when the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo issues its October housing market index later in the day.

At mid-session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.5 percent lower to 13,914.65, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.23 percent to 2,773.78 and the S&P 500 fell 0.52 percent to 1,540.7.

The housing sector was down on Mr. Bernanke’s comments and on separate comments from Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who said in a speech Geogretown University’s law school that the housing slump is the most serious risk currently facing the economy.

DR Horton (NYSE: DHI) dropped 30 cents to $13.80 after it said that orders were down 39 percent in its fiscal fourth quarter, while cancellations were at 48 percent.

Elsewhere in the sector Pulte Homes (NYSE: PHM) fell 32 cents to $14.11 while Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) was 36 cents lower to $21.79, Beazer Homes (NYSE: BZH) was down 41 cents to $8.75, Centex (NYSE: CTX) dropped 69 cents to $25.80 and KB Home (NYSE: KBH) fell 79 percent to $26.91.

The Dow was hurt by losses for General Motors (NYSE: GM), which was down $1.15 to $39.96 after a broker downgrade from “peer perform” to “under perform” from Bear Stearns.

JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM; TYO: 8634) dropped 85 cents to $45.42 ahead of its third-quarter results, due Wednesday, while Citigroup (NYSE: C) was $1.11 lower to $45.14 after it reported Monday that its earnings were down 57 percent in the third quarter due to losses in mortgage-backed securities and higher operating expenses.

The New York equities markets were up in midday trade.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.51 percent higher to 13,302.95, while the Nasdaq had added 0.55 percent to 2,555.8 and the S&P 500 was up 0.51 percent as well, to 1,469.92.

With crude oil prices higher, the oil sector saw gains.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) was 87 cents higher to $80.27, while ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) added $1.24 to $84.99, Chevron (NYSE: CVX) was up $1.41 to $86.89 and Valero Energy (NYSE: VLO) had gained $1.60 to $67.87.

New data on new home sales left the house building sector mixed. The Commerce Department reported that new home sales were up 2.8 percent in July after having dropped by 4 percent in June.

While the report seemed to ease fears that the housing slump could send the US economy into a recession, the fact remained that the sale of new homes was still 10.2 percent behind July sales last year.

Centex Corp (NYSE: CTX) added 16 cents to $32.02 after the report was issued, but Lennar (NYSE: LEN) dropped 3 cents to $29.96, Beazer (NYSE: BZH) was down 14 cents to $10.10 and Pulte Homes (NYSE: PHM) fell 23 cents to $17.36.

Clothing retailers were mixed on quarterly reports.

Gap (NYSE: GPS) added $1.03 to $18.43 after it said its earnings were up 19 percent and announced a share buyback worth $1.5 billion, but Aeropostale (NYSE: ARO) dropped 66 cents to $22.46 after its results didn’t meet analyst expectations.

Trading was volatile on Wall Street during the session on Wednesday.

At just past midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 were all slightly higher, but by just before 2 p.m. New York time the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.32 percent to 2,538.06 and the S&P 500 had dropped 0.18 percent to 1,452.71.

The Dow remained slightly higher, up 0.14 percent to 13,229.95.

At one point, home builder Beazer Homes (NYSE: BZH) had dropped over 40 percent to $8.24 on reports that it had or would shortly file for bankruptcy.

Even though Beazer denied the rumors, it remained 16.37 percent lower to $11.65 in early afternoon trade.

The reports hurt other homebuilders as well and at one point WCI Communities (NYSE: WCI) had dropped 14 percent to $7.59 and Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE: HOV) was 16 percent lower to $11.12.

In the automobile manufacturing sector, Ford Motor (NYSE: F) was 1.3 percent lower to $8.39 after it said that sales in the US dropped in July.

Even though it reported higher profits in the most recent quarter, Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) fell 0.9 percent to $32.45.

On the other hand, quarterly results that were better than expected when they were announced after trade closed on Tuesday sent Whole Foods (NAS: WFMI) 7.4 percent higher to $39.77.

Wall Street suffered big losses in early afternoon trade on Thursday.

At just past 1:30 p.m. in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 290 points, or 2.11 percent, to 13,494.46, while the Nasdaq Composite had lost 2.32 percent to 2,586.65 and the S&P 500 was 2.35 percent lower to 1,482.47.

The declines were largely fallout from more bad news on the housing market and on higher oil prices.

The Commerce Department released new data showing that new home sales were down 6.6 percent in June to an annualized rate of 834,000 units.

Homebuilders declined on the new figures.

DR Horton (NYSE: DHI) was 3.03 percent lower to $16.95, while Beazer Homes (NYSE: BZH) was down 11.21 percent to $15.13 and WCI Communities Inc (NYSE: WCI) had fallen 20.67 per cent to $8.98 by early afternoon.

Banks were also lower, feeling the effect of the ongoing concerns over the subprime mortgage sector.

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC; TYO: 8648) was down 80 cents to $47.13, while JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM; TYO: 8634) dropped $1.51 to $43.76, Citigroup (NYSE: C) was $1.95 lower to $47.26 and Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER; TYO: 8675) fell $3.57 to $74.53.

At the same time of day there were a few gainers.

Ford Motor (NYSE: F) had added 25 cents to $8.22 on a report that it had returned to profit in the second quarter, while consumer goods group Procter & Gamble (NSYE: PG) was 52 cents higher to $63.50.

On the Nasdaq, Amazon.com (NAS: AMZN) was 16 cents higher to $86.34, while Apple (NAS: AAPL) had gained $8.09 to $145.35.

Because of the big losses on the day, the New York Stock Exchange imposed trading curbs aimed at stopping large-block sales when shares are falling.