Stocks were higher on Wall Street in midday trade as the Commerce Department reported that the US trade deficit dropped 2.4 percent in August to $57.6 billion from its July level.

In addition, the Labor Department said that new unemployment claims fell to 308,000 last week, a drop of 12,000 from the previous week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.53 percent higher at mid-session to 14,152.99 after rising to a new record of 14,181.36.

The Nasdaq Composite was 0.56 percent higher to 2,827.37, while the S&P 500 was up 0.59 percent to 1,751.71 after rising to a record 1,573.47.

In the retail sector, Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) added $1.61 to $47.20 after it issued an improved earnings estimate for the third quarter, saying it will record earnings of between 66 and 69 cents per share, from an earlier prediction of 62 to 65 cents per share.

With a gain in same-store sales, clothing retailer Aeropostale (NYSE: ARO) gained $2.11 to $22.02, while TJX Companies (NYSE: TJX), which owns T. J. Maxx and Marshalls stores, was $1.63 higher to $31.29 after it said same-store sales were up 2 percent in September.

Limited Brands (NYSE: LTD) added 76 cents to $22.34 even though it said it suffered a drop of 4 percent in same-store sales in September.

J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) dropped $3.22 to $64.78 on same-store sales that were much worse than had been anticipated, causing the clothing retailer to reduce its third quarter estimate.

Elsewhere, the oil sector saw gains after prices rose on a report that crude oil stockpiles dropped more than expected last week.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) was up 44 cents to $87.17, while ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) added 80 cents to $93.93.

Wall Street was lower in early afternoon trade on Friday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.1 percent lower to 13,898.88 at just past 1 p.m. in New York, while the Nasdaq Composite had dropped 0.22 percent to 2,703.63 and the S&P 500 was down 0.23 percent to 1,527.89.

The Commerce department reported that personal spending was up 0.6 percent in August, more than expected even though incomes were only 0.3 percent higher, less than had been anticipated.

Banks saw declines after the overnight rate banks charge each other to borrow money increased.

Citigroup (NYSE: C) fell 21 cents to $46.67, while Bank of America (NYSE: BAC; TYO: 8648) was down 37 cents to $50.23 and JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM; TYO: 8634) was 53 percent lower to $45.68.

The oil sector also saw losses.

ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) dropped 24 cents to $92.73, while ConocoPhillips and Chevron each fell 32 cents, to $87.64 and $93.21 respectively.

The retail sector was mixed.

While discount retailer Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) added 17 cents to $43.78, home improvement retailer Home Depot (NYSE: HD) dropped 18 cents to $32.58.

Consumer electronics retailer Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) was down 36 cents to $45.84, while closeouts and overstocks retailer Big Lots (NYSE: BIG) was $1.16 lower to $29.94.

New York markets were higher just after noon on Friday, helped by news from the tech and oil sectors.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.79 percent higher to 13,874.90, while the Nasdaq Composite had added 0.92 percent to 2,678.64 and the S&P 500 had gained 0.8 percent to 1,530.89.

Trade was light as some were celebrating the Yom Kippur holiday. Software maker Oracle (NAS: ORCL) was up 89 cents to $21.93, it’s best in six and a half years, on a report that profits were up by 25 percent in its fiscal first quarter and the sale of new software licenses had risen by 35 percent.

In the semiconductors sector, Texas Instruments (NSYE: TXN) gained $1.23 to $37 on an increased dividend and expanded share buyback program.

Internet search engine Google (NAS: GOOG; LSE: GGEA) added $7.96 to $560.79, a new record high.

Persistently high oil prices sent shares in oil companies higher.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), was 63 cents higher to $89.03, while Chevron (NYSE: CVX) gained 91 cents to $95.07 and ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) added 93 cents to $93.02.

The New York markets were up in early afternoon trade.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.52 percent higher to 13,374.73, while the Nasdaq Composite had added 0.23 percent to 2,612.03 and the S&P 500 was 0.33 percent higher to 1,477.21.

Retailers were higher after Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), JC Penney (NYSE: JCP), and Target (NYSE: TGT) all said sales were higher than had been expected.

Wal-Mart added 1 percent to $42.86, while JC Penney gained 0.64 percent to $65.99 and Target was 2.13 percent higher to $63.20.

The pharmaceuticals/biotechnology sector was up on new figures and a court ruling.

Merck (NYSE: MRK) added 2.2 percent to $50.50 after the New Jersey Supreme Court reversed a lower court ruling that allowed insurers looking for reimbursement for past spending on Vioxx to claim class-action status.

Meanwhile Biogen Idec (NAS: BIIB) was 7 percent higher to $67.26 on a long-term earnings forecast that was higher than analysts had anticipated.

The oil sector was mixed even though crude oil prices were higher. ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) added 1 percent to $88.07 and ConocoPhillips was up 1.8 percent to $83.62, but Valero Energy (NYSE: VLO) dropped 1.25 percent to $70.09 a day after it said it would raise capital spending in order to make improvements at several refineries in the United States and Canada.

Wall Street was higher in early afternoon trade Wednesday as investors hunted bargains after Tuesday’s big declines.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.85 percent to 13,152.73, while the Nasdaq Composite was 1.03 percent higher to 2,526.49 and the S&P 500 gained 0.94 percent to 1,445.83.

The oil sector was higher after the US Energy Information Administration reported that crude oil and gasoline inventories both fell more last week than had been anticipated.

ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) was $1.25 higher to $84.25, while ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) added $1.63 to $80.44 and Chevron (NYSE: CVX) gained $1.77 to $86.07.

The retail sector also saw gains after companies at both ends of the spectrum revised their outlooks in a positive direction.

Closeout and overstock retailer Big Lots (NYSE: BIG) was up $2 to $28.30, while upscale housewares, cooking utensils and food retailer Williams Sonoma (NYSE: WSM) gained $2.58 percent to $32.15.

Elsewhere among retailers, discount retailer Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) added 27 cents to $43.67, while home improvement retailer Home Depot (NYSE: HD) was $1.13 higher to $36.18.

Fabrics and crafts retailer Jo-Ann Stores (NYSE: JAS) was up $2.16 to $24.40.

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 was higher in early afternoon trade Tuesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.04 percent higher to 13,126.39, while the Nasdaq Composite had added 0.48 percent to 2,520.55 and the S&P 500 was up 0.25 percent to 1,449.22.

The oil sector declined as oil prices fell below $70 per barrel in New York as Hurricane Dean weakened with no lasting damage to oil production facilities in the Gulf of Mexico.

Chevron (NYSE: CVX) was 20 cents lower to $84.69, while ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) dropped $1.21 to $78.65 and ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) fell $1.28 to $83.25.

The declining oil prices sent AMR (NYSE: AMR), the parent company of American Airlines, $1.34 higher to $23.55.

Most banks were higher after Senate Banking Committee Chairman and Democratic presidential candidate Christopher Dodd said after a meeting with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson that that Mr. Bernanke said that he was willing to do whatever necessary to calm the markets.

This led some analysts to speculate that there will soon be a cut in US interest rates.

While JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM; TYO: 8634) was 1 cent lower to $46.48, Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) had added 31 cents to $62.97, Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER; TYO: 8675) was up 74 cents to $75.64 and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) had gained $3.74 to $176.50.

The telecommunications sector was also higher.

Sprint-Nextel (NYSE: S) was 15 cents higher to $18.41, while AT&T (NYSE: T) had added 46 cents to $39.11.

The New York equities markets were mostly steady at midday. Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were even, at 12,211.43 and 1,394.66 respectively, while the Nasdaq Composite was 0.3 percent lower to 2,377.45. Shares in oil companies were higher as crude oil prices gained after new inventories reports showed that crude stockpiles fell by more than expected last week. Investor sentiment was hurt, however, by data showing that job growth in the private sector was not as robust as had been hoped.

In the oil sector, Chevron (NYSE: CVX) added 1.3 percent to $68.52, while ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) was 2.2 percent higher to $67.15. While crude oil inventories dropped significantly against expectations of an advance last week, most of the decline was due to bad weather on the US Gulf Coast and inventories are expected to rebound this week.

Computer related stocks were mixed. Internet search engine Google (NAS: GOOG; LSE: GGEA) was down 0.3 percent at midday to $456.18 even though UBS (NYSE: UBS; SWX: UBSN; TYO: 8657) issued an upgrade to “buy”, from “neutral” on the company’s shares. IBM (NYSE: IBM) was 0.3 percent higher to $94.12 but Cisco (NAS: CSCO; SEHK: 4333) dropped 1 percent to $25.69 on reports that the two companies were collaborating on software development projects.

In the retail sector, American Eagle Outfitters (NAS: AEOS) fell 3.8 percent to $28.69 after the clothing retailer did not meet earnings estimates. On the other hand, office supply retailer Office Depot (NYSE: ODP) added 2.1 percent to $34.35 on an upgrade from “hold” to “buy” from Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB).

Wall Street saw gains at midday on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.35 percent to 12,520.91, the Nasdaq Composite 0.41 percent higher to 2,441.12, and the S&P 500 adding 0.34 percent to 1,427.75. The Russell 2000 index of small-caps was up even more, gaining 1.01 percent to 785.82. Volume at mid-session was at 712.8 million shares.

The banking sector was mixed. Bank of America was 40 cents lower to $53.25 even though it said its loan business was up and that its purchase of credit-card company MNBA helped profit in the fourth quarter. Wachovia was up , but only by 4 cents to $56.3 even though issued a better than anticipated report.

In the oil sector, higher prices due to forecasts of colder weather sent Chevron up 97 cents to $72.21, while ExxonMobil gained $1.12 to $74.03 and ConocoPhillips added $1.41 to $64.78.

Telecommunications equipment makers saw declines. Tellabs was 4 cents lower to $10.06, while Alcatel-Lucent fell $1.17 to $13.03. Alcatel-Lucent blamed its inability to make a profit in its first quarter after consolidation on integration costs and weak sales.

In the semiconductors sector, Texas Instruments added $1.17 to $29.76 on a positive quarterly report and several broker upgrades.

Even though it reached analysts’ expectations, chemicals company DuPont dropped $1.23 to $48.87 on concerns about the higher cost of raw materials.

Wall Street saw gains in early afternoon trade on Friday, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average was once again in record territory after having closed at a new high on Thursday. The Dow was 0.31 percent higher to 12,553.27, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.60 percent to 2,499.67 and the S&P 500 gained 0.48 percent to 1,430.64. The Russell 2000 index of small-caps had gained 0.52 percent to 792.52. Trade volumes were at 857.3 million shares trading hands so far on the session.

The trademark dispute between Apple Computer and Cisco Systems over who can use the name “iPhone” continued to affect share prices. Apple dropped $1.25 to $94.54, while Cisco was 21 cents higher to $28.90.

In the semiconductors sector, Advanced Micro Devices dropped $2.08 to $18.09 after it said that results will not meet expectations in the fourth quarter.

With oil prices slightly higher on the session, the oil sector saw gains. Murphy Oil Corp added 4 cents to $46.29 despite a warning from the refiner that profits will be lower than had been anticipated in the fourth quarter. ExxonMobil was 71 cents higher to $71.70, while ConocoPhillips gained $1.41 to $63.23.

US markets will be closed on Monday in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.