Wall Street was mixed in midday trade after bad news from Boeing, a forecast on home sales for the year that was revised downward, and warnings from more than one company.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.74 percent lower to 14,060.32 as it lost nearly all of the 120 points it gained on Tuesday, while the S&P 500 dropped 0.37 percent to 1,559.4.

On the other hand, the Nasdaq Composite was slightly higher, up just 0.03 percent to 2,804.89.

Aerospace group Boeing (NYSE: BA; TYO: 7661) was $3.10 lower to $98.35 after it said that the first deliveries of its 787 Dreamliner aircraft will be delayed by half a year.

In the oil sector, Chevron (NYSE: CVX) dropped $1.89 to $90.92 after it said profits in the third quarter will be substantially below those in the previous quarter.

International Paper (NYSE: IP) was down 76 cents to $36.30 after it said it won’t earn as much as previously projected from land sales.

As the quarterly reporting period began, Alcoa (NYSE: AA) was fell $1.26 to $38.49 after it said that while profits were up by 3 percent, revenues in the quarter were lower.

There was good news, however, in the retail sector as Costco (NAS: COST) gained $5.26 to $68.70 on results that were better than had been anticipated.

Meanwhile, the National Association of Realtors issued a lowered forecast for the eighth time, saying that existing home sales will be down 10.8 percent from last year.

At midday in New York on Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 1.17 percent lower to 13,291.89.

The Nasdaq Composite had fallen 0.69 percent to 2,612.19, while the S&P 500 was down 1.14 percent to 1,472.48.

The declines came on a report from the National Association of Realtors that pending sales of existing homes were at the lowest level in almost six years and ahead of the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book report on economic conditions around the US, due later in the day.

In addition, retailers will report on August sales on Thursday.

Warehouse retailer Costco (NAS: COST) has already reported, saying that August same-store sales were up 2 percent, less than expected.

Costco’s shares dropped $3.16 to $58.45.

Mattel (NYSE: MAT) was 57 cents lower to $21.40 after yet another recall - the third in just over a month - of toys made in China, again due to the use of lead-based paints.

In the aerospace sector, Boeing (NYSE: BA; TYO: 7661) added 51 cents to $96.43 after it announced that a Russian airline had ordered 22 of its 787 Dreamliners in a deal worth $3.6 billion.

Apple was up 34 cents to $144.53 on an expected announcement that it will make upgrades to its iPod media players.

In New York, midday saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 all 0.2 percent higher. The Dow stood at 12,283.21, 1.4 percent higher for the week. The Nasdaq was at 2,391.51, while the S&P had added 1.3 percent on the week to 1,404.76.

Mortgage lender New Century Financial (NYSE: NEW) lost more than 18 percent to $3.05 after it said it was no longer accepting loan applications due to lack of support from its creditors. Many analysts expect the lender to enter bankruptcy soon.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), which lends money to New Century, managed to gain 5.6 percent over the week anyway, to $75.62. Meanwhile, Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) added 6.6 percent this week to $75.79.

Steel makers also saw substantial gains on the week. US Steel (NYSE: X) was 5.9 percent higher to $91.08, while Nucor (NYSE: NUE) gained 10.9 percent to $64.19. Nucor made positive comments pertaining to coming demand for steel.

Tire maker Goodyear (NYSE: GT), up 26 percent so far this year, added 5.6 percent during the week to $28.76. The gains were explained by analysts as the result of a new study showing that Americans have begun replacing the tires on their cars more frequently.

Declines came in sectors as diverse as the internet and retail. Internet search engine Yahoo (NAS: YHOO) dropped 5.4 percent to $29.04 on rumors that it is talking to AT&T (NYSE: T) about changes in their partnership. Meanwhile, warehouse retailer Costco (NAS: COST) fell 2.9 percent to $54.12 on new sales and profits data that did not please analysts.

The New York equities markets saw declines on Thursday after two leading mortgage lenders said that more people were defaulting on home loans. At noon, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had dropped 0.4 percent to 12,612.47. The Nasdaq Composite was also 0.4 percent lower, to 2,481.90, while the S&P 500 fell 0.3 percent to 1,445.26.

The retail sector was mixed. Gap added 2.9 percent to $19.81 after it said that its sales are up. On the other hand, Costco dropped 0.3 percent to $56.34 after steeper declines earlier after underlying sales were reported to be up only 2 percent in January, below expected levels.

In the media sector, Walt Disney dropped 1 percent to $35.10 on profit-taking after Wednesday’s report that its net income more than doubled in the quarter. Meanwhile, Warner Music fell 4.7 percent to $20.50 after it reported that its fiscal first quarter profits were down 74 percent.

Declines in the financial sector followed reports from HSBC and New Century Financial, two large subprime mortgage lenders, that defaults are on the rise. New Century fell to $21.64. Other subprime lenders that saw declines were American Home Mortgage Investments, which dropped 6.9 percent to $33.50 and Accredited Home Lenders, down 7.6 percent to $26.81. Elsewhere in the banking sector, JP Morgan and Wells Fargo each were 1 percent lower, to $50.71 and $35.55 respectively, while Lehman Brothers dropped 1.7 percent to $84.14.

The New York equities markets were higher at noon on Thursday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a new record high at one point in morning trade. The Dow dropped back a bit but was still 0.5 percent higher to 12,394.25 at midday. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite was up 1 percent to 2,456.69 and the S&P 500 had gained 0.6 percent to 1,422.32. The gains came as Citigroup set new targets for the Dow and the S&P at 14,000 and 1,600 respectively for 2007.

The securities sector was higher on good earnings news. Lehman Brothers said that its earnings were at $1.72 per share, higher than the expected $1.68 per share. The announcement sent the broker’s shares up 0.2 percent to $76.55. Bear Stearns was 1.7 percent higher to $158.56 on fourth quarter earnings of $4 per share, well above the $3.36 per share that had been expected.

Earnings news also helped Costco. The wholesale retailer said that its earnings were at 51 cents per share in its fiscal first quarter, a penny better than the predicted 50 cents per share. Costco shares gained 2.2 percent to trade at $54.29.

Losers on the day included defense communications systems contractor Argon ST, which dropped 7.4 percent to $19.81 after it said that its fourth quarter profits had fallen by 32 percent.

The New York equities markets were lower at mid-session on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.3 percent to 112,001.01, the Nasdaq Composite 0.1percent lower to 2,331.84, and the S&P 500 falling 0.2 percent to 1,365.19. Earlier in the day, the Dow fell below the 12,000 level for a time.

Much of the declines was due to a mixed retail sector, as several discount retailers failed to live up to analyst expectations. While Costco held steady at $52.91, Kohl’s dropped 0.6 percent to $70.65. Wal-Mart fell 1.2 percent to $48.27 on sales that grew by only 0.5 percent in October and a forecast of flat sales in November. Dillard’s and Target each dropped 1.5 percent, to $29.34 and $56.82 respectively.

On the other hand, high-end retailers showed good sales in October saw gains in share prices. JC Penney was 1.3 percent higher to $76.11, while Nordstrom gained 1.6 percent to $47.05.

Intel dropped 1.6 percent to $20.82 on a downgrade from “buy” to “neutral” from Merrill Lynch. In issuing it’s remarks, the broker cited excess capacity and weakening demand. But in other computer-related stocks, Dell Computer added 3.3 percent to $24.82 on an upgrade from “sell” to “neutral” from Goldman Sachs.

At midday on Thursday, New York equities markets were up after new data showed that the US economy was moderating but not falling off sharply when the Institute for Supply Management’s non-manufacturing index dropped more than had been expected in June. By mid-session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.8 percent to 11,237.15, while the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 had each added 0.4 percent, to 2,160.99 and 1,275.86 respectively.

In the retail sector, Costco declined by 2.7 percent to $55.29 on sales figures that were lower than expected in June. Elsewhere in the sector things were better, with Target up 1.4 percent to $48.94. TJX, which owns TJ Maxx and Marshall’s, added 3.5 percent to $23.00. Dollar General advanced by 4 percent to $14.39.

The energy sector was mixed. Peoples Energy was up 8.4 percent to $38.99 on the news that it is talking to WPS Resources about a merger. The news sent WPS down 4.5 percent to $47.92. In other mergers and acquisitions news, Peabody Energy added 5 percent after it said it would buy Australian coal company Excel coal. The Peabody announcement helped rival Arch Coal to advanced 2.3 percent to $43.22.

With the announcement that the Florida Supreme Court has upheld a lower court ruling that threw out a $145 billion damage award against the tobacco industry, tobacco stocks were up substantially. Reynolds American added 4.1 percent to $119.01, while Altria was up 6.6 percent to $78.19, its biggest one-day gain since November 2004.

The New York equities markets were mixed at midday on Tuesday after having suffered losses in the past two sessions. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.7 percent higher at 11,022.31 and the S&P 500 had gained 0.6 percent to 1,247.22. The Nasdaq Composite, however, was 0.5 percent lower at 2,121.01.

Retailers were up on the day. Supermarket chain Safeway was up 2.6 percent to $25.06, while rival Kroger had added 5.3 percent to $20.48 on higher than forecast earnings in its first quarter. Meanwhile, discount reatiler Costco gained 2.7 percent to $55.00 on an upgrade from “neutral” to “overweight” from JPMorgan.

Companies that produce food staples were up as well. Kellog, the cereal maker, was up 1 percent to $47.34, while Campbell Soup added 1.2 percent to $35.93 and condiment maker Heinz gained 1.3 percent to $41.65.

Miners, too, saw advances. Newmont Mining was up 1.9 percent to $50.10. Phelps Dodge gained 2.4 percent to $78.88, while Freeport McMoran added 2.6 percent to $48.20 and Barrick Gold advanced by 2.9 percent to $28.02.

In the airline sector, Continental Airlines was up 3.1 percent to $27.72, while JetBlue gained 5.2 percent to $12.13 on positive comments from Morgan Stanley.

The semiconductor sector, however, saw losses, as Sandisk lost 2.1 percent to $51.38 and Nvidia dropped 2.5 percent to $20.48.

Electronics retailer Circuit City was down 0.9 percent to $28.36 after Monday’s statement that higher interest rates are likely to affect its sales.

In midday trade in New York on Thursday, the equities markets were lower as retailers were mixed and banks were down.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average had dropped 0.4 percent to 11,013.50 by mid-session, and the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 had lost 0.3 percent each, to 2,307.93 and 1,287.43 respectively.

Higher bond yields and continuing worries over interest rates sent the banking sector lower. Citigroup and Bank of America each lost 0.9 percent, with Citigroup trading at $46.12 and Bank of America at $45.12. Wells Fargo dropped 1.4 percent to $63.80.

In the retail sector, clothing retailers were generally lower, while department stores and discounters had a better day. On a report of same-store growth, Costco Wholesale was up 0.8 percent to $52.60, while Kohl’s gained 1.1 percent to $49.30 after reporting a rise of 3.4 percent in sales. But the Gap dropped 2.7 percent to $18.15 after it revealed that sales were down 11 percent in February. Meanwhile, Abercrombie & Fitch was down 10.3 percent to $60.35 on a report that same-store sales were up by only 5 percent on February, much less than the 14 percent that had been forecast.

The energy sector was up on higher crude oil prices, with energy providers in the lead. Halliburton added 3.5 percent to $71.81, while Schlumberger gained 2.2 percent to $120.70.