The New York equities markets were mixed at midday on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.1 percent lower to 12,383.19, while the S&P 500 was fractionally lower to 1,409.38. The Nasdaq Composite, however, had overcome early declines and was 0.1 percent higher to 2,437.47. Analysts said that investors were being careful before companies begin releasing their fourth quarter earnings reports.

Retail was affected by broker sentiment. Bed Bath & Beyond added 2.1 percent to $39.68 after Goldman Sachs upgraded its recommendation to “buy” in anticipation of good quarterly results. The same broker downgraded Wal-Mart from “buy” to “neutral”, sending the discount retailer down 0.3 percent to $47.23.

Broker comment helped Apple, which added 1.1 percent to $86 after JPMorgan Securities upped its profit forecast for the first quarter for the computer maker.

Mergers and acquisitions activity played a part in moves in the oil sector. Forest Oil will buy Houston Exploration in a deal worth $1.5 billion in cash and stocks. Houston added 4.3 percent to $50.78, but Forest dropped 3.1 percent to $30.26. Meanwhile, General Electric will purchase oil and gas equipment supplier Vetco Gray for $1.9 billion. The news sent GE 0.5 percent lower to $37.39.

In the healthcare sector, medical device manufacturer St Jude Medical added 6.1 percent to $37.13 after it said its fourth quarter earnings will be higher than had been anticipated.

Equities markets in New York were lower just past mid-session on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average had dropped 0.2 percent to 12,443.76, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.02 percent to 2,427.16 and the S&P 500 was 0.1 percent lower to 1,421.99.

In the airlines sector, Delta Air Lines added 5 percent to $1.28 despite only a tepid vote of confidence from its creditors committee for its plan to remain an independent carrier as it comes out of bankruptcy. The committee said that it would continue to consider other alternatives. US Airways recently made a hostile bid for Delta.

Johnson & Johnson dropped 0.3 percent to $66.21 because while the US Food and Drug Administration approved its schizophrenia drug Invega, the FDA required a warning label on the product concerning an increased risk of a potentially fatal side effect.

The retail sector was mixed. Rite Aid added 2 percent to $5.48 even though it took a slight loss in the third quarter, due to an increased volume of prescriptions filled and better pharmacy sales. Best Buy was up 2.7 percent on an upgrade to “outperform” from Credit Suisse. On the other hand, Bed Bath & Beyond dropped 3.6 percent to $38.48. While it said that its profits in the quarter were up 6 percent, this was below what had been expected.

Midday on Thursday found the New York equities markets lower after new data showed the Index of Leading Economic Indicators down by 0.6 percent in May. The new figures were yet another sign that the US economy is growing at a slower pace. The possibility of new interest rate hikes also held investors back, with some analysts not expecting much change in the markets until the Federal Reserve meets next week.

By mid-session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had dropped 0.2 percent to 11,057.29, while the Nasdaq Composite was 0.5 percent lower at 2,130.30 and the S&P 500 had lost 0.3 percent to 1,248.80.

Miners declined with the price of gold and copper. Both Barrick Gold and Newmont Mining dropped 1.2 percent, to $27.97 and $49.90 respectively.

In computer related sectors, Apple Computer added 1.7 percent to $58.83 after French legislators approved a law concerning online music services that stopped short of provisions that had been proposed by some lawmakers. Chipmaker Micron Technology added 1.5 percent to $16.20 after Wednesday night’s news that it has finalized its merger with Lexar Media. Jabil Circuit, however, dropped 3.3 percent to $24.64 on the news that it has been subpoenaed about its practices connected with the granting of stock options. Jabil also has said that it is planning on eliminating jobs and closing some factories.

Bed, Bath and Beyond dropped 5.8 percent to $34.80. While its first-quarter earnings report was about where analysts expected it to be, the home furnishings retailer’s forecast of future profits was on the negative side and it said that some store openings could be cancelled.

Wall Street saw losses by midday on Thursday as higher crude oil prices and Treasury bond yields as well as upcoming employment data made investors nervous. The Dow Jones Industrial average had dropped 0.5 percent by mid-session to 11,188.81, while the Nasdaq Composite declined by 0.3 percent to 2,352.38 and the S&P 500 was down 0.5 percent to 1,305.26.

Merck hurt the Dow, dropping 4.5 percent to $34.38 after a $4.5 million court decision against the pharmaceutical company regarding side effects of its drug Vioxx. The loss increased the chances that more lawsuits would be filed against the company.

The retail sector was mixed as quarterly earnings reports were below estimates. The shortfalls were blamed on cold weather, higher gasoline prices, and a late Easter this year. Wal-Mart dropped 0.8 percent to $46.52 despite recording a 1.4 percent hike in March same-store sales. The Gap lost 0.5 percent to $18.57 on lower spring clothing sales that it blamed on the cold weather.

On the up side of retail, Target added 1.4 percent to $52.89 on slightly higher than expected sales figures. Bed, Bath & Beyond added 6.7 percent to $40.87 after profits were higher than had been predicted in their fourth quarter.

Apple Computer was up 4 percent to $69.92 after a gain of 9.9 percent on Wednesday on the release of new software that lets Macintosh users run Microsoft’s Windows operating system.