At mid-afternoon on Friday, the New York equities markets were higher for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average had added 1.7 percent to 12,314.86, while the Nasdaq Composite had gained 2.1 percent during the week to 2,440.98 and the S&P 500 was 1.3 percent higher over the week to 1,398.96.

There were several new listings during the week. Rental car company Hertz, listed at $15 per share to start, gained 4.5 percent by the end of the week to $15.67, while Halliburton’s KBR unit added 28.6 percent to $21.87 after debuting at $17 per share. The New York Mercantile Exchange was launched at $59 per share but by mid-afternoon Friday it had added 137 percent to $151.26.

The airlines sector was higher after US Airways offered an unsolicited bid for Delta Airlines worth $8 billion. US Airways added 19.8 percent to $59.06 after going as high as $62.57. Delta is currently in bankruptcy protection. Elsewhere in the sector JetBlue gained 9.4 percent to $14.52, while Continental added 15.6 percent to $42.07 and AirTran was 25.2 percent higher to $12.92.

Clear Channel Communications added 1.1 percent on the week to $35.35 after it agreed to be acquired by a group of private equity firms. Still in the media sector, Readers Digest gained 10.4 percent this week to $16.74 after accepting a deal worth $2.4 billion.

Among homebuilders, DR Horton added 12.2 percent over the week to $25.22 eve though its profits fell by 51 percent in its fiscal fourth quarter.

The New York equities markets were higher in the afternoon on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.4 percent to 12,299.57 after going as high as 12,325.91 earlier in the session, a new all-time high. The Nasdaq Composite had added 0.2 percent to 2,447.67, while the S&P 500 was 0.3 percent higher to 1,400.89.

Dell Computer dropped 3.5 percent to $24.86 after it delayed its preliminary third-quarter report due to a Securities and Exchange Commission inquiry into the company’s accounting practices. On the other hand, Hewlett Packard added 0.7 percent to $40.07 ahead of its quarterly report, due to be released after the close of trade.

Elsewhere among technology-related sectors, Applied Materials was 4.2 percent lower to $17.87 on a warning that sales will decline on the order of 5 to 10 percent. Internet search engine Google, however, added 0.8 percent to $495.80.

There was bids news in the media sector. Clear Channel Communications, the radio station operator, added 3.9 percent to $35.46 and went as high as $35.88 after it agreed to be acquired by a group of private equity firms for $19 billion. Meanwhile, Readers Digest added 7.8 percent to $16.69 after it agreed to be purchased by a group of investors.

In the retail sector, Sears dropped 5.4 percent to $169.51 after earnings were lower than had been anticipated.