New York equities markets were higher in early afternoon trade even though comments in a speech by Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke did not mention interest rates.

Analysts and investors had been hoping that Mr. Bernanke would say something that would indicate what the Fed is planning on doing about interest rates when it meets next.

Confidence was also boosted by new Commerce Department data showing that the US trade deficit narrowed slightly, from $59.4 billion in June to $59.2 billion in July in the face of conventional wisdom that said it would widen.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.89 percent to 13,244.91, while the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.86 percent to 2,581.05 and the S&P 500 gained 0.72 percent to 1,462.17.

The Dow was helped by good sales news from fast food chain McDonalds (NYSE: MCD) when it said that global sales at restaurants open at least a year were up 8.1 percent in August.

McDonalds shares added $2.25 to $52.40.

The Nasdaq was helped by a big gain from biopharmaceutical group ImClone Systems (NAS: IMCL), which added $7.99 to $45.92 on the news that late-stage studies of the drug Erbitux has improved survival in lung-cancer patients.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY), also involved in the development of the drug, added 31 cents to $28.31.

Most railroads were higher after broker comments that a recent judicial decision on coal rates have taken some regulatory and legislative pressures off the sector.

The decision found in favor of Burlington Northern Santa Fe (NYSE: BNI) in two cases where the railroad was accused of charging too much to transport coal.

Burlington Northern added 70 cents to $80.92.

Kansas City Northern (NYSE: KSU) was up 75 cents to $31.16 and Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) gained 91 cents to $50.01, while Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) was $1.71 higher to $107.58.

However, CSX (NYSE: CSX) was 48 cents lower to $38.81.

At just before 2 pm in New York, Wall Street was in positive territory for the day, helped by the Fed‘s cut in the discount rate.

Most analysts now expect that the Fed will cut the benchmark interest rate when it meets in September, while some investors hope they do it even sooner than that.

Some analysts said that if the cut in the discount rate returns confidence to the markets, the Fed might not need to cut the benchmark rate, but the Fed’s move on the discount rate was seen as evidence that the Fed is prepared to act if the markets don’t become more stable soon.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 1.25 percent higher to 13,006.49, while the Nasdaq Composite had added 1.67 percent to 2,491.92 and the S&P 500 was up 1.88 percent to 1,437.77.

Mortgage lender Countrywide Financial (NYSE: CFC), which saw big declines on Thursday after drawing down a multi-billion dollar credit line to be able to stay in operation, was up $2.23 in afternoon trade on Friday to $21.18.

Banks were also higher.

Citigroup (NYSE: C) had gained $1.57 to $49.12, while Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) added $1.88 to $51.73 and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) was $3.98 higher to $173.83.

Housebuilder DR Horton (NYSE: DHI) was also higher, adding 63 cents to $16.54 after Thursday’s data on new home construction came in lower than expected for July.

The telecommunications sector was mixed. Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) was 11 cents higher to $40.34 and Qwest Communications (NYSE: Q) had gained 22 cents to $8.94, but Sprint-Nextel (NSYE: S) was trading even at $18.20 and Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) had dropped 6 cents to $10.53.

Results were also mixed in the pharmaceuticals sector.

Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) was 53 cents higher to $23.92, but Merck (NYSE: MRK) was down 11 cents to $49.35 while Bristol-Myers Squibb had dropped 27 cents to $27.10.

Wall Street was higher in early afternoon trade Monday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average had added 0.63 percent to 13,264.5, while the Nasdaq Composite was 0.29 percent higher to 2,518.56 and the S&P 400 was up 0.69 percent to 1,442.9.

The Russell 2000 index had gained 0.06 percent to 755.84.

Trade in shares of American Home Mortgage (NYSE: AHM) were halted after it had lost most of its market capitalization in the past few sessions, laid off nearly all its employees last Friday and today filed for bankruptcy protection in Delaware.

Elsewhere in the sector, however, Countrywide Financial (NYSE: CFC) added 47 cents to $25.48.

Investment banker Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) dropped $3.32 to $105.03 in the wake of last week’s reduced ratings outlook from Standard & Poor’s and after it fired an executive over the weekend.

On the other hand, other members of the financial services sector were higher.

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) was 35 cents higher to $47.35, while JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) added 65 cents to $44.30, Citigroup (NYSE: C) gained 82 cents to $46.54, Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) was up $1.42 to $34.23 and Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER) added $2.02 to $72.07.

There were also gains in the pharmaceuticals sector, where Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) was 7 cents higher to $28.07, Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) gained 39 cents to $23.90 and Merck (NYSE: MRK) was 80 cents higher to $51.09.

Merck’s gains came on a broker upgrade.

In the retail sector, Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) added $1.03 to $46.55 after it said that it is putting together a joint business-to-business venture in India.

Wall Street was higher in midday trade on Monday as quarterly reports and mergers and acquisition news were in focus.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.81 percent higher to 13,963.34, while the Nasdaq Composite had added 0.54 percent to 2,702.01 and the S&P 500 gained 0.76 percent to 1,545.79.

The Russell 3000 index of small and mid-caps was up 0.52 percent to 840.82.

Credit card provider American Express (NYSE: AXP) was 35 cents higher to $64.86 ahead of the release of its second quarter report, due after the close of trade on the day.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, Merck (NYSE: MRK) said that it had seen its earnings increase by 12 percent in the quarter, sending it $3.90 higher to $52.92.

Elsewhere in the sector, Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) gained 33 cents to $25.23 and Bristol-Myers Squibb (NSYE: BMY) added 60 cents to $32.14, but Schering-Plough (NYSE: SGP) dropped 12 cents to $31.37.

In purchase news, offshore drilling contractor Transocean Inc. (NYSE: RIG) and GlobalSantaFe Corp. (NYSE: GSF) announced that they have made a deal to merge.

Transocean was $6.28 higher to $116.25, while GlobalSantaFe gained $3.86 to $78.60.

The company created by the deal will carry a market value of around $53 billion.

In another deal, United Rentals (NYSE: URI) has agreed to be taken private by affiliates of Cereberus Capital Management in a cash deal worth $4 billion.

Shares in United Rentals were trading $33.08 at mid-session, up 71 cents.

Declines in the oil sector and among mortgage lenders and homebuilders sent Wall Street lower by midday on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was about even at 12,575.78, but the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.3 percent to 2,451.61 and the S&P 500 fell 0.2 percent to 1,435.80.

The pharmaceuticals sector was mixed as Bristol-Myers Squibb declined on failing merger talks but Onyx Pharmaceuticals was up a phenomenal 82.9 percent to $22.42 on good news from trials on a new liver cancer treatment. Bristol-Myers dropped 4 percent to $27.37.

ExxonMobil was 0.7 percent lower to $74.73.

Among homebuilders DR Horton fell 1.7 percent, to $27.56, as the sector was unsettled by further declines in among mortgage lenders. Last week’s warnings on lending were still a concern, with Countrywide down 3.6 percent to $27.56 and New Century Financial 4.5 percent lower to $17.91.

Among retailers, Home Depot added 1.2 percent to $41.48 on the news that it is thinking about either spinning off, floating, or selling HD Supply, its wholesale distribution business.

Apple Computer added 1.4 percent to $84.44 on an upgrade from “hold” to “buy” from Citigroup. The broker cited new product launches and said that lower prices on memory chips would help margins.

Wall Street equities markets were mixed at midday on Friday but looked poised to close higher for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.2 percent lower at noon to 12,646.20 but still 1.3 percent higher for the whole week. The Nasdaq Composite was 0.1 percent higher at mid-session at 2,470.93, a gain of 1.5 percent on the week, while the S&P 500 was even on the day so far but up 1.7 for the week at 1,445.75. The Russell 2000 index of mid-caps was 2.7 percent higher on the week at lunchtime, having breached the 800 level for the first time in its history.

Bids news was in focus. Bristol Myers Squibb added 9.4 percent over the week to $28.67 on bids talk, while newsprint producers Abitibi-Consolidated and Bowater announced that they would merge. The announcement sent Abitibi 20.4 percent higher to $3.18, while Bowater gained 24.3 percent to $27.53.

US Airways withdrew its bid for Delta Air Lines, which is currently in bankruptcy protection. The bid was rescinded after some of Delta’s unsecured creditors objected to the deal. US Airways added 10.3 percent on the week to $57.50, helped by a quarterly report that showed it had returned to profitability in the fourth quarter.

Earnings news also had an effect on the markets this week. Biopharmaceuticals company Gilead Sciences gained 13.2 percent over the week to $71 on a better than expected earnings report, while Boeing gained 5.9 percent on the week to $90.48. But just doing better than had been anticipated did not necessarily mean gains. While it gained 1.7 percent during the week, Amazon was 3.2 percent lower to $37.47 on concern over margins even though it beat estimates. Meanwhile, 3M dropped 6.1 percent to $73.92 even though it did better than expected when it said that slow growth in the world economy could hurt its results this year.

Wall Street was higher on Wednesday after the US Federal Reserve voted to leave interest rates at 5.25 percent for another month. The accompanying statement pronounced the economy “somewhat firmer” and said that the Federal Open Market Committee, the Fed’s decision-making body, will continue to keep an eye on inflation.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, already up a bit before the decision, extended its gains to 0.7 percent to 12,607.67 by mid-afternoon. The Nasdaq Composite, lower before the announcement, was 0.4 percent higher to 2,457.81 afterwards. The S&P 500, steady earlier in the session, also added 0.4 percent, to 1,435.04.

Despite a fourth-quarter report that showed profits more than double, the Chicago Board of Trade dropped 0.4 percent to $168.40. Time Warner also saw declines, falling 0.9 percent to $21.84, even thought its profits were up by more than 30 percent in the fourth quarter.

In the tobacco sector, Altria dropped 0.3 percent to $87.27 even though its earnings in the fourth quarter were at $1.40 per share, significantly above the $1.23 per share that had been anticipated.

Eastman Kodak added 1.9 percent to $26 as it posted a profit in the fourth quarter, after having posted losses in the same quarter of 2005.

Bristol-Myers Squibb gained 2.5 percent to $28.74 on a report that Lehman Brothers will join Citigroup and Morgan Stanley to advise the pharmaceutical company of its options approaching a takeover bid that is expected from Sanofi Aventis.

The Dow gained on a 4.6 percent rise by Boeing to $89.98 after the aerospace firm raised its earnings guidance for this year after reporting earnings of $1.16 per share in the fourth quarter of 2006, better than the 98 cents per share that had been expected.

New York equities markets were slightly higher on Monday. By midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.1 percent to 12,504.88, while the Nasdaq Composite had gained 0.15 percent to 2,439.12 and the S&P 500 added 0.04 percent to 1,422.71.

The banking sector was mixed on mergers news and rumors. First Republic Bank added 40.2 percent to $53.69 after Merrill Lynch announced that it would buy the bank. Merrill Lynch dropped 1.5 percent to $93.15. Bank of America dropped 1 percent to $51.50 and Countrywide Financial added 4.3 percent to $43.80 on investor reaction to a Friday report that the two were in talks about a merger. Meanwhile, Citigroup was 1.1 percent lower to $54.07 on the announcement that it will purchase Egg Banking from Prudential in the UK.

In the semiconductors sector, Intel gained 2.1 percent to $20.96 after it said it has had success in making, smaller, more powerful microchips.

Pharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb added 5.9 percent to $27.75 on rumors of a buyout.

Tyson Foods was 3.8 percent higher to $17.33 after it said that profits were up 46 percent in its fiscal first quarter. Earnings were 16 cents per share, well above predictions of 6 cents per share.