New York equities markets were higher in early afternoon trade even though comments in a speech by Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke did not mention interest rates.

Analysts and investors had been hoping that Mr. Bernanke would say something that would indicate what the Fed is planning on doing about interest rates when it meets next.

Confidence was also boosted by new Commerce Department data showing that the US trade deficit narrowed slightly, from $59.4 billion in June to $59.2 billion in July in the face of conventional wisdom that said it would widen.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.89 percent to 13,244.91, while the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.86 percent to 2,581.05 and the S&P 500 gained 0.72 percent to 1,462.17.

The Dow was helped by good sales news from fast food chain McDonalds (NYSE: MCD) when it said that global sales at restaurants open at least a year were up 8.1 percent in August.

McDonalds shares added $2.25 to $52.40.

The Nasdaq was helped by a big gain from biopharmaceutical group ImClone Systems (NAS: IMCL), which added $7.99 to $45.92 on the news that late-stage studies of the drug Erbitux has improved survival in lung-cancer patients.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY), also involved in the development of the drug, added 31 cents to $28.31.

Most railroads were higher after broker comments that a recent judicial decision on coal rates have taken some regulatory and legislative pressures off the sector.

The decision found in favor of Burlington Northern Santa Fe (NYSE: BNI) in two cases where the railroad was accused of charging too much to transport coal.

Burlington Northern added 70 cents to $80.92.

Kansas City Northern (NYSE: KSU) was up 75 cents to $31.16 and Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) gained 91 cents to $50.01, while Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) was $1.71 higher to $107.58.

However, CSX (NYSE: CSX) was 48 cents lower to $38.81.

Wall Street was higher by the middle of Wednesday’s session despite bad news from selected sectors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.2 percent higher to 11,521.22, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.5 percent to 2,226.05 and the S&P 500 gained 0.3 percent to 1,316.45.

Some of the bad news came from Hewlett Packard, which dropped 1.9 percent to $36.22 after the California Attorney General said that there was evidence that could lead to charges against company officials in connection with leaks by board members to the media.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, Merck fell 2.4 percent to $41.15 after its Vioxx drug was linked to kidney and heart problems in two reports which were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

News was better elsewhere. Gap, the clothing retailer, added 2.3 percent to $17.48 on an upgrade from “equal weight” to “overweight” from Lehman Brothers. AMR, the parent company of American Airways, gained 2.6 percent to $22.78 on an upgrade from “neutral” to “buy” from Merrill Lynch.

The transport sector saw advances based on the news that spot-freight rates for grain are as high as they have been all year. CSX was 3.6 percent higher to #31.94, while Expeditors International gained 6.7 percent to $46.07.

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.