Wall Street was mixed at midday on Thursday. The Nasdaq Composite was 0.1 percent higher to 2,254.27, but the S&P 500 was 0.1 percent lower to 1,324.36 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average had dropped 0.2 percent to 11,592.38. The declines for the Dow and the S&P still left them near all-time and 5-year highs respectively.

An announcement from Wal-Mart that it will sell 30-day supplies of generic drugs for $4 in a trial program sent shares in drug retailers lower. Walgreen dropped 6 percent to $46.97, while CVS fell 9.2 percent to $32.18. The news also sent pharmacy benefit managers, the administrators for corporate and insurance prescription drug plans, lower. Medco Health Solutions dropped 3.4 percent to $60.75, while Caremark Rx was 4.3 percent lower to $56.56.

Carnival, the cruise ship operator, added 4.6 percent to $45.58 on better than expected third quarter earnings, mainly due to declining fuel costs.

Oil stocks were up as crude oil prices rose. BJ Services was 2.6 percent higher to $29.93, while Consol Energy added 5.9 percent to $30.78.

Food manufacturers saw gains on the strength of positive quarterly results. ConAgra, which makes Hebrew National hotdogs among other products, was 3.4 percent higher to $24.04, while breakfast cereal maker General Mills gained 3.7 percent to $54.97.

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.

Wall Street results were mixed at midday on Friday, with the Nasdaq Composite down for the week and the day so far, while both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were down on the day but up for the week. The Dow was down 0.3 percent on the day until noon but up 1.4 percent on the week to 10,893.52, while the Nasdaq was 0.5 percent lower for the day and 0.4 percent lower for the week to 2,028.46 and the S&P was down 0.3 percent for the day and 0.7 percent higher over the week.

Computer-related stocks were mixed. Software company Microsoft had a weekly gain of 7.2 percent to $23.90. Even though its quarterly report showed earnings down 24 percent, it was helped by the announcement of a $40 billion share buyback. Among computer makers, Apple Computer added 20.6 percent over the week to $61.09 on profits that were 48 percent higher in the second quarter, but Dell was 12.6 percent lower to $19.14 after it said that profits in the second quarter would not meet predictions. Internet search engine Yahoo fell 20 percent during the week to $25.68 on a 78 percent drop in earnings in the second quarter, even though these losses were expected.

In the semiconductor sector, Advanced Micro Devices was down 11.5 percent this week to $19.12 despite reporting higher profits in the quarter. Investors were worried about lower revenues due to margins that were being cut in the effort to compete with Intel, which dropped 3 percent on the week.

Oil services companies saw losses during the week after oil prices dropped during the week. BJ Services lost 13.3 percent to $30.35, while Halliburton dropped 17.3 percent to $30.55.

The New York equities markets were lower at mid-session on Friday, reflecting what looked to end up a losing week for everyone but the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The Dow was lower by 0.1 percent at the mid-point in the day, to 11,009.19, but was on course to finish 1.1 percent higher on the week. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.6 percent on the day so far and down 0.2 percent on the week to 2,130.38. The S&P 500 was 0.5 percent lower on the day to 1,250.24, also 0.1 percent lower over the week.

Oil services companies were off for the week, as Schlumberger was down 2.3 percent to $57.88 and BJ Services also lost 2.3 percent, to $35.24.

Banks were down, as well, though not by as much as they could have been. Lehman Brothers, down by 11 percent at one point in the week, was down 4 percent to $62.97 by mid-session on Friday, and Goldman Sachs was off 4 percent to $143.94 where it had been down by as much as 8.7 percent earlier in the week. Bear Stearns was 3.1 percent lower to $132.18.

Stock exchange operators also ended the week in negative territory. Intercontinental Exchange was down 2.7 percent to $49.45, while Nasdaq lost 3.2 percent to $25.52 and NYSE Group declined by 6.4 percent to $53.50.

Ethanol producer Verasun Energy began trade on Wednesday, gaining 30 percent on its first day of availability. While it lost value on Thursday, mid-day Friday found it still 8.7 percent ahead for the week at $25.00.

Afternoon trade on Monday saw the New York equities markets mixed as crude oil and commodities prices dropped and investors were still worried about inflation. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.3 percent to 11,342.25, but the Nasdaq Composite had declined 0.9 percent to 2,223.57 and the S&P 500 was 0.5 percent lower to 1,285.29.

With copper down 9 percent and the price of gold back below $700 per troy ounce, miners saw declines on the day. Newmont Mining fell 3.7 percent to $54.22, while aluminium producer Alcan was down to $52.98, a drop of 5.7 percent. Additionally, the price of crude oil was down almost 2 percent, which sent oil company ConocoPhillips down 3.5 percent to $62.92. Oilfield services company BJ Services lost 5.2 percent to $35.55.

Ethanol producer Archer Daniels Midland was also hurt by declining oil prices. ADM shares declined by 3.3 percent to $42.64.

In the retail sector, discounter Target lost 4.5 percent to $49.85, its lowest level in a year. Despite reporting that quarterly earnings were up 12 percent, investors were disappointed by lower gross margins.

Pharmaceuticals companies did better, with the sector as a whole up by 1.1 percent. Abbott Laboratories added 2.4 percent to $42.42, while Merck was up 1.5 percent to $34.79. The sector was helped by an announcement from AstraZeneca that it will purchase Cambridge Antibody Technology, a UK biotechnology company.