Wall Street was mixed at midday on Thursday. The Nasdaq Composite was 0.1 percent higher to 2,254.27, but the S&P 500 was 0.1 percent lower to 1,324.36 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average had dropped 0.2 percent to 11,592.38. The declines for the Dow and the S&P still left them near all-time and 5-year highs respectively.

An announcement from Wal-Mart that it will sell 30-day supplies of generic drugs for $4 in a trial program sent shares in drug retailers lower. Walgreen dropped 6 percent to $46.97, while CVS fell 9.2 percent to $32.18. The news also sent pharmacy benefit managers, the administrators for corporate and insurance prescription drug plans, lower. Medco Health Solutions dropped 3.4 percent to $60.75, while Caremark Rx was 4.3 percent lower to $56.56.

Carnival, the cruise ship operator, added 4.6 percent to $45.58 on better than expected third quarter earnings, mainly due to declining fuel costs.

Oil stocks were up as crude oil prices rose. BJ Services was 2.6 percent higher to $29.93, while Consol Energy added 5.9 percent to $30.78.

Food manufacturers saw gains on the strength of positive quarterly results. ConAgra, which makes Hebrew National hotdogs among other products, was 3.4 percent higher to $24.04, while breakfast cereal maker General Mills gained 3.7 percent to $54.97.

New York equities markets were higher at mid-session on Friday on renewed consumer confidence as new data hinted at moderating inflation and as the price of crude oil continued to decline. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.4 percent to 11, 567.41, poised to end the week with a gain of 1.5 percent. The Nasdaq Composite had added 0.2 percent so far on the session to 2,233.51, up 3.1 percent on the week as a whole. The S&P 500 had added 0.2 percent at noon to 1,319.36, for a total gain of 1.6 percent this week.

All the news wasn’t positive, however. With commodities prices down, miners and the oil sector had a losing week. ExxonMobil was 3.3 percent lower to $64.60. Among miners, Newmont Mining fell 8.6 percent to $44.04, while Freeport McMoran dropped 10.6 percent $52.12. Even coal miners were lower, with Consol Energy declining 8.4 percent on the week to $30.41.

Ford Motor also ended the week lower after it said it will cut 14,000 salaried positions in an attempt to save $5 billion per year. The announcement spurred Merrill Lynch to lower its recommendation on Ford from “neutral” to “sell”. Shares in the carmaker were 9.2 percent lower over the week to $8.25.

Homebuilders had a good week, helped by declining yields on 10-year Treasury issues. DR Horton ended the week 10.2 percent higher to $24.25, while KB Home added 12.7 percent to $45.48.

The retail sector saw gains as well. Wal-Mart gained 3.5 percent to $48.36, while home improvement retailer Home Depot added 7.5 percent to $36.85. Electronics retailers were up after Best Buy reported better than anticipated growth in earnings in the second quarter. Best Buy was 15 percent higher during the week to $53.27, and Circuit City followed it higher, adding 12.6 percent to $25.78.

At noon on Friday the New York markets were up on the day but seemed ready to end the week on a negative note. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.8 percent higher so far for the day but was still 0.2 percent lower for the week to 11,366.98. The Nasdaq Composite had gained 0.2 percent to 2,160.29 by noon, but had dropped 1.5 percent since the beginning of the week. The S&P 500 was up 0.2 percent on the day but was 1.1 percent lower for the week to 1,296.07.

Coal miners saw substantial declines during the week. Arch Coal was 7.9 percent lower to $31.00, Consol Energy fell 9.8 percent to $33.45, and Peabody Energy dropped 11.7 percent to $39.46. Analysts revised their earnings predictions for Peabody downward after Peabody said that its coal shipments would be lower than had been estimated in the third quarter.

In the oil sector, Devon Energy was up 5.8 percent on the week to $67.90 after news that a well it drilled in conjunction with Chevron in the Gulf of Mexico had led to the discovery of a large new oil field. The rest of the sector suffered from the effect of declining oil prices. Sunoco dropped 8.7 percent to $66.30, while Valero Energy declined by 9.3 percent to $52.41.

Carmakers did well this week, however. General Motors added 4.5 percent to $31.63 after it said that it will lengthen its warranty on new cars to 100,000 miles or 5 years. Ford Motor added 5.4 percent to $8.72 on the news that it will replace its chief executive.