The New York equities markets were mixed at midday on Monday on news from several sectors. Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were lower, by 0.1 percent each to 11,497.13 and 1,314.15 respectively, while the Nasdaq Composite had added 0.2 percent to 2,222.94.

Crude oil futures that fell below $60 per barrel sent the oil sector lower. Marathon Oil dropped 2.7 percent to $69.25, while Pride International, an oil services group, fell 3 percent to $25.46. Archer Daniels Midland declined 4.2 percent to $36.85 on comments from an investment commentator that ethanol would never seriously challenge oil as a fuel.

Metals prices were also lower, sending shares in miners tumbling. Coeur d’Alene fell 2.8 percent to $4.44, while Phelps Dodge was 3.1 percent lower to $80.16.

The tobacco sector saw losses when a federal court judge in New York let a class-action suit representing users of “light” cigarettes proceed in the courts. Reynolds American fell 2.7 percent to $60.36, while Altria dropped 4.3 percent to $78.82.

Drug retailers continued to decline after last week’s announcement by Wal-Mart that it was starting a pilot program to sell generic prescription drugs at $4 for a thirty-day supply. CVS declined 4.7 percent to $31.48, while Walgreen’s dropped 4.8 percent to $44.63 even though it said it saw profits increase by 25 percent in it’s fiscal forth quarter.

Wall Street was down on Monday as crude oil prices were once again on the rise as worries grew once again over Iran’s insistence on continuing its nuclear development program. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the session 0.3 percent lower to 11,345.05, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.8 percent to 2,147.75 and the S&P 500 declined by 0.4 percent to 1,297.52.

Nearly the only sector that the higher oil prices helped was the oil sector itself. ExxonMobil was 1.1 percent higher to $69.83, while Marathon Oil added 3.1 percent to $89.94.

Also higher on the day, as investors sought a safe place to put their money, was the gold segment of the mining sector. Newmont Mining was up 3.6 percent to $52.55. Barrick Gold added 4.2 percent to $33.00. Copper miners also saw gains as a South American strike continued with not immediate hope of a solution. Freeport McMoran advanced by 4.7 percent to $57.15 and Coeur d’Alene was 4.9 percent higher to $5.37.

Home improvement retailers were lower. Lowe’s dropped 4 percent to $28.35 on a disappointing second-quarter report, and has lost 15 percent since January. Home Depot followed Lowe’s lower, falling 1.4 percent to $34.30. Elsewhere in the retail sector, Dollar General was down 9.6 percent to $12.74.

Transport was hit by higher oil prices, with Burlington Northern Santa Fe dropping 3.5 percent to $66.07 and Norfolk Southern declining by 4.1 percent to $42.46.

Internet stocks were lower as well, as Google fell 1.6 percent to $377.30, Yahoo was 3 percent lower to $28.90, and Amazon declined 3.4 percent to $28.13.

At midday on Friday the New York equities markets were seeing gains for both the day and week on help from several sectors as well as from some positive economic news. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1 percent on the day and 1.6 percent on the week to 11,551.96, a six-year high. The Nasdaq Composite was at 2,333.58, a gain of 0.4 percent on the day and 0.5 percent for the week and the S&P 500 had added 0.4 percent for the day and 0.6 percent over the week to sit at 1,318.03 at mid-session.

In the steel sector, US Steel added 10.4 percent to $75.60 over the week, while Nucor was up 8.2 percent during the week to $117.74 on an upgrade from Merrill Lynch.

Among miners, Phelps Dodge was up 8.1 percent this week $93.14 on record copper prices and an upgrade from Bear Stearns. The copper miner has added over 40 percent since March. On the negative side, Coeur dAlene, owner of mines in Boliva, dropped 9.7 percent during the week to $6.30.

Stock exchanges were mixed this week as speculation was that the New York Stock Exchange would best Nasdaq for control of the London Stock Exchange. The NYSE added 7 percent on Friday and was up 1.6 percent during the week to $67.48, while Nasdaq lost 1.5 percent this week to $36.87.

The transportation sector had a good week, with Expeditors International up 19.1 percent on the week to $104.70. Rail-freight shippers had a good week on higher imports from China and the ability to charge more for their services. CSX was up 8 percent this week to $74.06, while Burlington Northern Santa Fe added 5.6 percent to $83.95.