Wall Street was higher in early afternoon trade Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.36 percent higher to 13,413.01.

The Nasdaq Composite had added 0.62 percent to 2,569.81, while the S&P 500 was up 0.21 percent to 1,468.94.

In the media sector Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIAb), which owns MTV
and Nickelodeon cable channels and Paramount Pictures, added 1.8 percent to $38.69 on a quarterly report that was better than had been anticipated.

Pharmacy chain CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS) also issued a better than expected report and gained 3.6 percent to $45.54.

Microsoft (NAS: MSFT) gained 1.1 percent to $29.61 on the announcement that is renewed a font licensing agreement with Apple (NAS: AAPL; LSE: ACP; FWB: APC), which was 0.16 percent higher to $135.21.

In mergers and acquisitions news, Fiserv Inc (NAS: FISV) added 0.5 percent to $49.41 on the news that it will purchase electronic payment company CheckFree Corp (NAS: CKFR), which was 24 percent higher to $45.54.

Banks were slightly higher, with Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) adding 0.15 percent to $47.70 and Citigroup (NYSE: C) gaining 0.71 percent to $46.64.

But Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co (NAS: LEND) dropped nearly 40 percent to $4.97 after the subprime lender said it might not be able to stay in business.

The New York equities markets were mixed at midday on Wednesday after the release of some mixed earnings reports. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were each 0.2 percent lower, to 11,842.04 and 1,351.44, while the Nasdaq Composite was 0.1 percent higher to 2,316.78.

Alcoa dropped 5.7 percent to $26.69 after it said Tuesday evening that profits were up 86 percent in the third quarter, a significant gain but much less than had been expected. The results were put to lower prices for aluminium and declines in automobile manufacturing and homebuilding.

Fund manager Legg Mason was 17.3 percent lower on a warning that earnings in its second quarter would be substantially lower than has been estimated. Merrill Lynch cut its recommendation on Legg from “buy” to “sell”. The news, coupled with an offer from Bank of America that gives 30 free trades per month to customers with $25,000 in bank deposits with BofA, sent other brokerages lower. Charles Schwab dropped 5 percent to $17.16, while E*trade declined 10 percent to $22.05 and TD Ameritrade was 10.6 percent lower to $17.07.

Ag biotech and fertilizer group Monsanto was 5.1 percent lower to $44.05 on the news that its losses in the third quarter were greater than had been expected. It also said that next year’s earnings would be lower than earlier estimated.

Among gainers, drug retailer CVS added 4.2 percent to $30.97 on a preliminary third-quarter earnings report that was better than had been forecast. Insurance provider Progressive, meanwhile, was 2.8 percent higher to $25.40 on a third quarter report that showed earnings up by 34 percent in the quarter.

The New York equities markets were mixed at midday on Monday on news from several sectors. Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were lower, by 0.1 percent each to 11,497.13 and 1,314.15 respectively, while the Nasdaq Composite had added 0.2 percent to 2,222.94.

Crude oil futures that fell below $60 per barrel sent the oil sector lower. Marathon Oil dropped 2.7 percent to $69.25, while Pride International, an oil services group, fell 3 percent to $25.46. Archer Daniels Midland declined 4.2 percent to $36.85 on comments from an investment commentator that ethanol would never seriously challenge oil as a fuel.

Metals prices were also lower, sending shares in miners tumbling. Coeur d’Alene fell 2.8 percent to $4.44, while Phelps Dodge was 3.1 percent lower to $80.16.

The tobacco sector saw losses when a federal court judge in New York let a class-action suit representing users of “light” cigarettes proceed in the courts. Reynolds American fell 2.7 percent to $60.36, while Altria dropped 4.3 percent to $78.82.

Drug retailers continued to decline after last week’s announcement by Wal-Mart that it was starting a pilot program to sell generic prescription drugs at $4 for a thirty-day supply. CVS declined 4.7 percent to $31.48, while Walgreen’s dropped 4.8 percent to $44.63 even though it said it saw profits increase by 25 percent in it’s fiscal forth quarter.

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.

There was little movement in New York equities markets by midday on Wednesday on continuing concerns that interest rates will continue to rise. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.1 percent higher to 11,156.78, while the Nasdaq Composite was slightly lower at 2,295.83 and the S&P 500 had dropped 0.1 percent to 1,296.31.

Banks were struggling as quarterly reports continued to come in or be due soon. Lehman Brothers said their first quarter earnings were up 24 percent but still lost 0.7 percent early and struggled to stay even by midday at $145.28. Bear Stearns, due to report Thursday, was down 0.5 percent to $133.88 and Goldman Sachs dropped 1.1 percent to $147.71 on profit-taking.

Sears Holdings, which owns not only Sears but K-Mart, gained 10.1 percent to $130.04 on its earnings reports, which came in much higher than had been expected. Elsewhere in the retail sector, drugstore chain CVS dropped 2.7 percent to $29.74 on the report that the Securities and Exchange Commission has begun an informal inquiry into the company’s accounting practices.

An investigation into alleged wrongdoing also hurt tax preparer H&R Block, which lost 4.3 percent to $21.05. New York State Attorney Eliot Spitzer announced that his office is looking into charges that the company has urged clients to invest their tax refunds in retirement accounts that do not generate enough interest to cover account fees.

Railroads did well on the day after increased price estimates from Merrill Lynch when Union Pacific upped its estimate of first-quarter profits by 20 percent. Union Pacific was up 5.3 percent to $89.76. Among other railroads, Burlington Northern Santa Fe advanced 4.9 percent to $80.24 and Norfolk Southern gained 3.3 percent to $53.21.