Bucking the global trend to losses on the session, Wall Street was higher at mid-day.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.46 percent to 13,564.21, while the Nasdaq Composite had added 0.38 percent to 2,649.17 and the S&P 500 gained 0.47 percent to 1,517.15.

Mergers and acquisitions were in focus as rumors surfaced that Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL) could be interested in purchasing Anglo-Dutch consumer goods manufacturer Unilever (NYSE: UN; LSE: ULVR; Euronext: UNA).

Colgate added 19 cents to $65.96, while Unilever was $1.45 higher to $34.56.

Aluminium producer Alcoa (NYSE: AA) added 62 cents to $42.28, the biggest gain on the Dow, on talk that its bid for Alcan (NSYE: AL; TSX: AL) could be challenged by a competing bid from Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO).

Alcan was up to $42.23.

Fast food operator Yum Brands (NYSE: YUM) added $1.37 to $34.17 on an upgrade from “neutral” to “buy” from UBS (NYSE: UBS; SWX: UBSN; TYO: 8657).

Yum was scheduled to release its quarterly results after the close of trade on the day.

Also due to report at the end of the session was Genentech (NYSE: DNA), which was even at $74.85 around mid-session.

In the oil sector, Chevron (NYSE: CVX) added $1.22 to $90.22 after a statement released after Tuesday’s close that it expects its quarterly results to benefit from higher prices and refining margins.

Wall Street was higher at mid-afternoon on Tuesday as the reports period accelerated and produced mixed results. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.2 percent higher to 12,518.74, while the Nasdaq Composite had also added 0.2 percent to 2,446. The S&P 500 was up 0.45 percent to 1,426.95.

US Steel, 3M, Proctor & Gamble, and Colgate-Palmolive all reported quarterly results that were higher than had been anticipated. US Steel added 3 percent to $79.17 on its results, while Colgate-Palmolive gained 0.7 percent to $67.15. On the other hand, 3M dropped 4.6 percent to $75.33 when it warned that a slowing global economy could mean reduced results in 2007.

UPS said that its results met expectations with earnings of $1.04 per share, but it dropped 3 percent to $71.40 when it warned that growth could slow down this year.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, Merck reported profits down 58 percent in the fourth quarter, missing expectations and falling 1.6 percent to $44.79 on the session so far.

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange was 0.7 percent lower to $572.05 after it said that it missed estimates due to trading margins that were lower and even though it reported quarterly profits that were up 33 percent.