The Dow Jones Industrial Average had lost more than 130 points at midday, falling 0.99 percent to 13,540.31 after Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER; TYO: 8675) said that it had written down $7.9 billion in the third quarter, over $2 billion more than it had said that it would have to write off earlier, for a net loss of $2.3 billion in the quarter.

In addition the National Association of Realtors said that existing home sales were down again in September, falling 8 percent during the month for the biggest decline since 1999 and much more than the 4.5 percent that had been expected.

The weak sales sent the median price for an existing home 4.2 percent lower than last year at the same time.

The Nasdaq Composite, meanwhile, was down 1.93 percent to 2,745.37 and the S&P 500 dropped 1.3 percent to 1,499.79.

In the technology sector Intel (NAS: INTC; SEHK: 4335) was $1.08 lower to $25.72 after Broadcom (NAS: BRCM) issued a worse than expected quarterly report Tuesday.

Broadcom was $7.51 lower to $34.55.

Banks took the Merrill Lynch news hard.

Bank of New York (NYSE: BNY) was $1.30 lower to $46.18, while Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) was down $4.13 to $112.04.

Internet retailer Amazon (NAS: AMZN) dropped $15.32 to $85.50 even though it reported that its profits in the quarter more than quadrupled.

Wall Street was lower in midday trade on Monday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.4 percent to 13,389.36, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.9 percent to 2,578.74 and the S&P 500 was 0.66 percent lower to 1,474.52.

Investor uncertainty ahead of tomorrow’s interest rate decision from the Federal Reserve and before several brokers release their quarterly results later in the week.

Brokerages declined ahead of results, with Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) 87 cents lower to $58.64.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) dropped $1.75 to $64.36, Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER; TYO: 8675) was down $2.10 to $72.55, and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) fell $3.32 to $187.27.

Most chipmakers were lower on the session.

The main exception was Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD), which added 10 cents to $12.79 by midday after an upgrade to “neutral” from “underweight” from JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM; TYO: 8634).

Texas Instruments (NSYE: STM) dropped 1 cent to $34.67, while Intel (NAS: INTC; SEHK: 4335) was 9 cents lower to $24.84. Broadcom (NAS: BRCM) fell 70 cents to $34.80, while US-traded shares of STMicroelectronics (NSYE: STM; Euronext: STM) were down 58 cents to $16.11.

After a European Union court dismissed Microsoft’s (NAS: MSFT) appeal of a EU antitrust ruling and upheld the fine issued with the ruling, the software giant dropped 37 cents to $28.67.

In early afternoon trade in New York on Monday, equities markets were slightly ahead after last week’s declines.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.3 percent to 13,278,72, while the Nasdaq Composite had added 0.15 percent to 2,548.6 and the S&P 500 was 0.32 percent higher to 1,458.32.

The gains came as the Federal Reserve and other central banks added more cash into their monetary systems in order to calm investor nerves about the credit market.

The New York Fed announced $2 billion in overnight repurchase agreements, while the Bank of Japan put another $5 billion into the system and the European Central Bank added another $65.3 billion.

Also helping the US markets was a new report from the Commerce Department that showed retail sales up 0.3 percent in July, a bit more than had been anticipated.

This new data left the retail sector mixed, however, with Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) up 21 cents to $46.28 but home improvement retailer Home Depot (NYSE: HD) falling 53 cents to $35.39.

Technology stocks were mostly higher in afternoon trade even though they had retreated from morning gains.

Qwest Communications (NYSE: Q) was up 19 cents to $8.56 on the news that it had named a new CEO after the retirement of its previous one.

Qualcomm (NAS: QCOM) added 96 cents to $38.85 after its general counsel resigned in the wake of legal troubles in its continuing dispute with Broadcom (NAS: BRCM), which fell 59 cents to $35.26.

Storage technology group EMC Corp (NYSE: EMC) was $1.12 higher to $18.84 as it prepared to spin off 10 percent of its Vmware storage virtualization unit.

In the subprime sector, Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co (NAS: LEND) dropped $2.76 to $6.15 after it said it had filed suit against Lone Star Fund V and two of its affiliates to try to get the private equity firm to live up to its agreement to take over the troubled mortgage lender after Lone Star said on Friday that Accredited did not meet the conditions of the offer.

Accredited said that without the takeover deal, it could have to file for bankruptcy.

Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) dropped $1.62 to $178.88.

Wall Street was mixed at mid-afternoon on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.2 percent to 12,645.48, while the S&P 500 was even at 1,447.93 after gains early in the day reversed. The Nasdaq Composite was 0.6 percent higher to 2,486.12 on fiscal second quarter results from Cisco Systems, released after the close on Tuesday.

Cisco added 3.3 percent to $28.18 after it exceeded profits expectations and projected that sales will be strong this year. Its fiscal second quarter net income was at $1.9 billion and it said that it believes that third quarter revenues will be up by around 20 percent. In related sectors, chipmaker Broadcom was 5.3 percent higher to $33.69.

In the media sector, News Corp. added 1.6 percent to $24.53 even though profits were down in its fiscal second quarter. Revenue was up 18 percent, however, and successes with Borat and X-Men for its film division helped sales.

Health insurer Cigna added 2 percent to $139.93 after releasing a fourth-quarter report that showed profits up 10 percent and net income at $232 million, besting estimates by analysts.

Whirlpool dropped 3 percent to $92.02 on net profits that were down 13 percent for the year, with fourth-quarter profits below what had been anticipated.

Higher than expected core wholesale price inflation and bigger declines in industrial production in September weighed more than bids rumors and earnings reports in New York on Tuesday, sending equities markets lower at midday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.57 percent lower to 11,912.08, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.2 percent to 2,336.02 and the S&P 500 fell 0.7 percent to 1,359.91.

Both the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade saw gains on news of the planned merger of the two exchanges, which will create the biggest futures and options exchange in the world. CME added 2.21 percent to $514.35, while CBOT jumped 12.82 percent to $151.76 as shareholders learned that the merger would net them $8 billion worth of CME stock.

In financial sectors, Merrill Lynch dropped 0.08 percent to $84.04 even though its third-quarter earnings were up from $1.4 billion to $1.9 billion, even without what it gained in the sale of its asset management unit. Financial services group State Street was a decline of 2.2 percent to $62.94 despite of an increase of 93 percent in the third quarter over the same period last year.

Semiconductors declined as well. Intel was 3.4 percent lower to $20.88 ahead of its earnings report, due later in the day, on a downgrade from Goldman Sachs. Meanwhile Broadcom dropped 4.83 percent to $29.33.

Wall Street was higher at midday on Tuesday as commodity prices declined, which sent miners and oil stocks lower but helped the retail sector. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.64 percent to 11,745.27, while the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 were each 0.3 percent higher, to 2,243.50 and 1,335.12 respectively.

With gold and copper prices down, miners declined significantly. Newmont Mining dropped 3.4 percent to $41.74, while Freeport McMoran fell 5.1 percent to $50.73.

Oil services companies were lower on dropping crude oil prices. Ensco International declined 3 percent to $40.42 on a downgrade from “overweight” to “neutral” by JPMorgan. Diamond Offshore ell 4.3 percent to $65.58.

The retail sector, however, liked the drop in oil prices on the possibility that lower gasoline and heating oil prices would free up more consumer dollars for other purchases. Limited Brands was 2.8 percent higher to $27.51, while office-supply retailer Staples gained 5.1 percent to $25.50

Semiconductors were lower on the session. Marvell Technology dropped 14.1 percent to $16.40 after saying that it would restate its financial results and after reducing its 2007 revenues outlook. Broadcom declined 3.8 percent to $29.68.

The New York equities markets were up slightly at midday on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average approaching its record closing high. The Dow added 0.3 percent to 11,717.01, just five points lower than its highest closing level. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 were each 0.1 percent higher to 2,260.45 and 1,337.36 respectively.

In the retail sector, Wal-Mart was 1.3 percent lower to $48.67 even though same store sales were up 1.8 percent in September, at the lower end of its expectations. Wal-Mart also announced that it will convert more positions to part-time and put a cap on salaries. Family Dollar was lower as well, dropping 1.6 percent to $28.77.

The telecommunications sector was mixed as Qualcomm and Broadcom were scheduled to enter negotiations with a San Diego judge on Wednesday over their patent dispute. Qualcom fell 3.5 percent to $35.09, while Broadcom was 3.9 percent higher to $31.53.

Harrah’s Entertainment gained 14.9 percent to $76.35 after the casino operator said that private equity groups Apollo Management and Texas Pacific had offered $15.1 billion to buy it out. The offer and the gain translated into gains elsewhere in the sector, with Wynn 3.7 percent higher to $70.94 and MGM Mirage up 4.5 percent to $41.09.

Apple Computer declined 2.6 percent to $75.02 on a downgrade from “buy” to “hold” from Citigroup, which said that Apple’s new larger-screen video iPods would probably not be available for the Christmas buying season.

Wall Street was mixed at midday on Friday after strong gains early in the week. Mid-session found the Dow Jones Industrial Average even for the day but 1.9 percent higher on the week at 11,723.10. The Nasdaq Composite was 0.1 percent higher on the day and 2.4 percent higher for the week at 2,272.52, while the S&P 500 was essentially flat on the day, down by only 0.4 points, but 1.8 percent higher on the week to 1,338.74.

With Friday’s session marking the end of the quarter, the Dow was up 5.1 percent for the third quarter and 9.4 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Nasdaq saw a quarterly gain of 4.6 percent but was only 3 percent higher for the year to date, and the S&P added 5.4 percent over the quarter and 7.2 percent so far this year.

The semiconductors sector was mixed on the week, with big gains and big losses. Intel was 9.2 percent higher on the week to $20.82 after a court victor over Advanced Micro Devices and the announcement that it will start shipping microprocessors with four cores in November. Broadcom added 9.8 percent to $30.57 even though it is in the middle of a patent dispute with Qualcomm. On the other hand, PMC-Sierra dropped 6.6 percent to $6.04 on weak demand that spurred a decreased revenues forecast.

Among internet companies, Ebay was 9.9 percent higher to $28.69 on rumors that Microsoft was set to purchase the online auction site and on an increased third-quarter revenues estimate from Goldman Sachs.

General Motors was 8.6 percent higher this week to $33.24 on speculation that Kirk Kerkorian’s investment group might add to its 10 percent stake in the carmaker and on talks between GM, Nissan and Renault concerning possible cooperation.

Earnings reports helped the New York equities markets to advances by mid-session on Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.5 percent to 11,455.83, while the Nadsaq Composite was 0.9 percent higher to 2,192.96 an the S&P 500 had added 0.6 percent to 1,306.90.

Flat-panel television sales helped Best Buy to second quarter earnings that were higher than had been expected. The electronics retailer was 5.8 percent higher to $50.54. These results, with their implication that consumers are spending more than had been assumed, helped out the homebuilding sector. Pulte added 4.5 percent to $30.83, while DR Horton gained 4.7 percent to $23.41.

McDonald’s reported a 6 percent rise in sales in August, helping its shares to add 2.3 percent to $37.96, its highest level in six years.

Semiconductors were up after a sector-wide upgrade from Credit Suisse. Broadcom was 4.2 percent higher to $27.58, while Applied Materials, which makes chip making equipment, added 4.4 percent to $17.15.

In the banking sector, Goldman Sachs was 3.3 percent higher to $156.01 even though profits fell in its third quarter. Despite the decline, profits still were higher than analysts had expected.

Positive results did not help Kroger, however. Even though the supermarket chain said that earnings were up in its second quarter, profit margins were lower than some analysts had expected, sending shares 4.2 percent lower to $23.07.

The New York equities markets were lower at midday on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average unmoved for the day so far at 11,332.32, the Nasdaq Composite 0.4 percent lower to 2,149.10, and the S&P 500 down 0.1 percent to 1,296.38. The declines, however, could not erase the weeks gains and at mid-session the Dow stood up 2.2 percent on the week, while the Nasdaq was 4.4 percent higher and the S&P stood 2.3 percent above where it began the week.

The oil sector did not help the weeks gains, although dropping oil prices had a positive effect on investor sentiment. Among oil companies, Valero Energy was 5.5 percent lower on the week to $61.27 and Hess dropped 6.7 percent to $48.44.

Computer makers saw advances, although Dell was only 0.2 percent higher for the week at $21.12 at the middle of Friday’s session, having lost the 8 percent it had gained during the week after the company reported that its second-quarter earnings had fallen by 51 percent. In addition, it was revealed that the Securities and Exchange Commission has been investigating Dell for the past year in connection with its accounting practices. Elsewhere in the sector, Hewlett-Packard added 7.4 percent over the week, to $35.50, on the strength of a better than expected earnings report and the announcement of a share buyback.

Semiconductors also had a good week. Intel was 5.6 percent higher to $18.38, while Broadcom added 17 percent to $29.29. Advanced Micro Devices rode a Citibank upgrade from “hold” to “buy” to an 18.5 percent advance to $23.43. PMC-Sierra gained 24.3 percent over the week to $6.29.