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.

In early afternoon trade on Wall Street on Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.05 percent higher to 13,885.22, while the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.3 percent to 2,707.02 and the S&P 500 had gained 0.17 percent to 1,528.07.

House builders were mixed, with some seeing gains even though the Commerce Department reported that new home sales were down again in August, dropping 8.3 percent even though analysts had expected a decline of just around 4.6 percent.

In addition, KB Home (NYSE: KBH) reported that revenues were down 32 percent in the quarter ending 31 August.

Besides reporting losses in the quarter, the CEO of KB Home said that he sees the housing market continuing its decline into next year, with no sign of recovery yet in sight.

Still, just before 1 p.m. New York time KB had added 5 cents to $24.13.

At the same time, Centex (NYSE: CTX) was up 22 cents to $25.66 and D. R. Horton (NYSE: DHI) had gained 2 cents to $12.88.

On the other hand Lennar (NYSE: LEN) had dropped 56 cents to $21.70.

Elsewhere, oil refiners were lower after analyst comment that their earnings are likely to see declines in the third quarter.

The analyst, from Friedman, Billings, Ramsey, rated the sector at “market weight”.

Individually, he rated Valero (NYSE: VLO) at “outperform”, but its shares still were 82 cents lower to $67.44.

Frontier Oil (NYSE: FTO) was $1.05 lower to $42.22, while Holly Corp. fell $1.51 to $60.52, Sunoco (NYSE: SUN) was down $1.79 to $71.58, and Tesoro (NYSE: TSO) dropped $2.16 to $47.54.

New York equities markets were down at midday on Friday after a report from the US Commerce Department that August retail sales were down 0.4 percent when expectations for a gain of 0.1 percent had been anticipated.

The figures excluded auto sales.

Other, separate reports, showed industrial production up only 0.2 percent in August and September consumer confidence down according to the RBC Cash Index and only slightly higher in the Reuters/University of Michigan survey.

US markets were also disturbed by Northern Rock’s (LSE: NRK) troubles in the UK.

However, declines were limited by hopes that the Federal Reserve will cut US interest rates when it meets next Tuesday.

In midday trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had dropped 0.08 percent to 13,413.99, while the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.14 percent to 2,597.47 and the S&P 500 had fallen 0.15 percent to 1,481.79.

Despite the general declines, house builders were higher in light trading ahead of the Fed’s decision next week.

KB Home (NYSE: KBH) was 38 cents higher to $27.07, while D. R. Horton (NYSE: DHI) had added 39 cents to $14.15.

Lennar (NYSE: LEN) gained 43 cents to $25.50, Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE: HOV) was up 51 cents to $10.54, Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) added 54 cents to $20.56, and Centex (NYSE: CTX) climbed 67 cents to $26.81.

Some airlines were also higher, despite oil prices that remained high even though there had been some decline from Thursday’s gains.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK) was $1.66 higher to $24.68 after it announced a stock buyback worth as much as $100 million, while Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) gained 24 cents to $32.70.

Most other US airlines also saw gains, but Northwest Airlines (NYSE: NWA) fell 2 cents to $17.50.

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.

Wall Street remained volatile on Thursday.

At just past 2 pm New York time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.02 percent to 12,730.51, but earlier in the afternoon it had been down as much as 308 points, or 2.4 percent.

Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite was down 1.2 percent to 2,429.39 and the S&P 500 had dropped 0.68 percent to 1,397.17.

Earlier, the Nasdaq had been down as much as 2.31 percent and the S&P had been down as much as 2.7 percent.

The Federal Reserve had earlier put another $17 billion into the banking system in an effort to raise investor confidence didn’t seem to have much immediate effect.

Investor fears seemed to be confirmed when Countrywide Financial (NYSE: CFC) was forced to draw down all of an $11.5 billion credit line in order to fund its operations after it could not borrow in traditional credit markets and after Moody’s Investor Service warned that the mortgage lender’s debt ratings could be cut to junk status.

Moody’s said it had cut Countrywide’s senior debt rating from A3 to Baa3, the lowest investment-grade rating.

Countrywide was down 23.63 percent to $16.26 in early afternoon trade.

The Commerce Department said that new home construction dropped to its lowest level in over ten years in July.

The announcement left home builders mixed.

At early afternoon, DR Horton (NYSE: DHI) was still 0.06 percent higher to $15.70, while Lennar (NYSE: LEN) had added 0.07 percent to $30.04 and Standard Pacific (NYSE: SPF) gained 1.57 percent to $9.08.

However, Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) was down 1.38 percent to $21.48, while Pulte Homes (NYSE: PHM) fell 1.89 percent to $16.58, Centex (NYSE: CTX) had dropped 4.13 percent to $30.90, and Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE: HOV) was 12.81 percent lower to $11.16.

In other economic news, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia announced that its general economic index was at zero in August, down from 9.2 in July, which meant that while the region’s economy is not contracting it is not expanding either.

The New York equities markets were higher in early afternoon trade on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.84 percent to 13,617.78.

The Nasdaq Composite was 1.92 percent higher to 2,610.69, while the S&P 500 had added 1.15 percent to 1,493.72.

The gains came on comments from the Federal Reserve on Tuesday that it expects the US economy to continue to grow moderately and after Cisco Systems (NAS: CSCO; SEHK: 4333) said its profits were up by 25 percent in the most recent quarter and upped its revenue prediction for the full year.

Cisco gained $1.78 to $31.47 after it made its report.

Meanwhile, house builder Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) said that revenues are down 21 percent in its preliminary third-quarter report and refused to provide an earnings guidance in what it called a volatile market.

Still, Toll Brothers added $1.06 to $24.01 because the declines weren’t as steep as analysts had expected them to be.

That, and a statement from KB Home (NYSE: KBH) that it had used cash on hand to repay $650 million in debt sent the sector higher.

KB added $3.36 to $36.42, while DR Horton (NYSE: DHI) was up $1 to $18.39, Pulte Homes (NYSE: PHM) was $2.46 higher to $22.84, and Centex (NYSE: CTX) gained $2.73 to $38.40.

Financial services also saw gains.

Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) added 70 cents to $34.97, Citigroup (NYSE: C) gained 88 cents to $49.47, and Bank of America was 94 cents higher to $49.61.

Meanwhile, Lehman Brothers was up $4.44 to $65.15, while Goldman Sachs added $5.55 to $196.80 and Bear Stearns was $7.35 higher to $124.24.

In early afternoon trade on Friday Wall Street saw steep declines a day after the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above the 14,000 level for the first time in history.

The Dow was down 1.26 percent to 13,824.34, while the Naasdaq Composite fell 1.41 percent to 2,681.56 and the S&P
500 was 1.24 percent lower to 1,533.81.

Disappointing quarterly reports and more concerns about the housing market and subprime mortgages drove the declines.

In the internet sector, Google (NAS: GOOG) dropped 5.7 percent to $517.53 after it reported that earnings were lower in the quarter on higher operating expenses and the adding of employees.

Microsoft’s (NAS: MSFT)report headlined higher earnings but bad news on the sale of personal computers sent shares 1.7 percent lower to $$30.98.

Construction machinery maker Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) fell 8.4 percent to $79.70 after it reported that earnings dropped on declines in truck engine sales and a decline in construction in North America.

Construction woes hit homebuilders as well, sending the Dow Jones US Home Construction Index 3.3 percent lower to 516.91, its lowest level since October 2003, on predictions that the US housing market will be in the doldrums well into next year.

Pulte Homes (NYSE: PHM) dropped 2.8 percent to $21.78, while Centex (NYSE: CTX) was 3.9 percent lower to $41.73.

Comments from the President of the St. Louis Federal Reserve that the mess in the subprime mortgage sector was big enough to affect the housing markets and consumer spending sent shares in banks lower.

Citigroup (NYSE: C) had gone higher on a positive quarterly report, but dropped 1.3 percent to $50.45 on subprime concerns.

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) was also lower, down 1.77 percent to $48.40 despite a 5 percent gain in earnings in the most recent quarter after it also increased provisions for losses from bad loans.

Wall Street was mixed at noon on Tuesday as the earnings season prepares to get into full swing, with companies such as Apple, IBM, Citigroup, Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan and General Electric all scheduled to release their fourth-quarter reports this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.04 percent to 12,560.88, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.1 percent to 2,500.97. The S&P 500, meanwhile, was 0.02 percent higher to 1,431.01.

Homebuilders were lower. KB Home dropped 1.2 percent to $48.76, while Centex fell 2.8 percent to $51.68. The S&P homebuilders index dropped 2 percent.

Technology stocks were responsible for the decline in the Nasdaq. Cisco was 2.9 percent lower to $28.08 on broker downgrades, while Symantec fell 8.8 percent to $18.67 after it said that profits in 2007 will not rise to expected levels. The semiconductor sector also fell on negative news from brokers. Novellus Systems was down 2.2 percent to $32.03 and KLA-Tencor dropped 2.6 percent to $50.83. Intel, which was scheduled to issue its report after the close of trade Tuesday, was 0.5 percent lower to $22.02.

The banking sector saw gains, with Wells Fargo 2.3 percent higher to $36.33 on earnings of 64 cents per share in the fourth quarter.

In the transport sector, FedEx gained 2.7 percent to $111.77 as the Dow Transports Average gained 1.3 percent on the session so far and 5.7 percent since the beginning of the year.

Wall Street was lower by the middle of the session on Tuesday after new data showed that new housing starts were down sharply in August and Yahoo issued a profits warning. By midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.5 percent lower to 11,502.09, while the Nasdaq Composite had dropped 1.1 percent to 2,212.25 and the S&P 500 was 0.5 percent lower to 1,315.23.

The news that housing starts were down by 6 percent in August, double the expected drop, hurt the homebuilding sector. Centex and Toll Brothers each dropped 3.2 percent to $51.94 and $27.27 respectively.

Internet search engine Yahoo was 11.6 percent lower to $25.65 when its chief financial officer announced that this quarters results would only reach the lower levels of earlier predictions. The news also hurt Google, which fell 4.5 percent to $395.77.

Dow Jones, which publishes the Wall Street Journal, was also lower on a revised earnings guidance, dropping 2.5 percent to $33.02. In yet another lowered guidance, semiconductors company Maxim Integrated Products declined by 6.1 percent to $29.45.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, ImClone Systems fell 6.3 percent to $28.59 after a judged ruled that the process it used to come up with its cancer drug Erbitux was actually invented by three Israeli scientists, whose employer could be entitled to royalties due to ImClone’s use of the process.

Labor unit costs that were up 4.9 percent in the second quarter sent the New York equities markets lower at midday on Wednesday. The labor cost inflation was higher than had been expected. Still analysts did not believe that the mornings decline was a sign of an end to the current market rally. The Dow Jones Industrial Average had dropped 0.4 percent to 11,421.25, while the Nasdaq Composite was 1.4 percent lower to 2,175.98 and the S&P 500 had fallen 0.7 percent to 1,303.54.

Crude oil prices were lower, sending oil stocks lower. Sunoco was 3.4 percent lower to $68.78, while Occidental Petroleum dropped 3.9 percent to $48.85.

The semiconductors sector also declined. Intel fell 2.9 percent to $19.42 after it said that it will reduce its payroll by 10 percent, or 10,500 jobs. The news didn’t help other chipmakers, as Nvidia dropped 3.1 percent to $27.62 and Xilinx declined by 4.2 percent to $21.28.

Concerns about interest rates hurt homebuilders. DR Horton was 3.3 percent lower to $21.08 and is down a total of 40 percent since the start of the year. Centex fell 3.7 percent to $48.44.

Ford Motor provided one of the few positive moves of the day, adding 1.6 percent to $8.52 after yesterday’s announcement that its chief executive will be replaced, although he will remain on as executive chairman.