The New York equities markets were mixed at midday on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were each 0.2 percent lower, to 12,396.81 and 1,409.64 respectively, while the Nasdaq Composite was 0.1 percent higher to 2,445.49.

The oil sector was sent lower by the slide in crude oil prices. Hess dropped 1.1 percent to $47.68, while ExxonMobil fell 1.4 percent to $71.05, and Chevron was 1.7 percent lower to $69.43 after it downgraded its earnings projections for the fourth quarter. ConocoPhillips was down 2.4 percent to $65.89 and Occidental Petroleum fell 3.1 percent to $42.32.

The computer sector was mixed. IBM dropped 1.9 percent to $98.14 on a broker downgrade, but Apple Computer gained 4.6 percent to $97.12 after reaching a new all-time high of $97.80 earlier in the session on excitement about Tuesday’s launch of its new iPhone.

Airlines were higher after US Airways upped its offer for Delta Air Lines to $10.2 billion. US Air added 1.7 percent to $58.86, while Delta was 5.4 percent higher to $1.37.

Aluminium producer Alcoa gained 4.2 percent to $29.71 after its fourth-quarter report showed a profit of 74 cents per share for the quarter, better than earlier estimates of 65 cents per share.

Equities markets in New York were lower just past mid-session on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average had dropped 0.2 percent to 12,443.76, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.02 percent to 2,427.16 and the S&P 500 was 0.1 percent lower to 1,421.99.

In the airlines sector, Delta Air Lines added 5 percent to $1.28 despite only a tepid vote of confidence from its creditors committee for its plan to remain an independent carrier as it comes out of bankruptcy. The committee said that it would continue to consider other alternatives. US Airways recently made a hostile bid for Delta.

Johnson & Johnson dropped 0.3 percent to $66.21 because while the US Food and Drug Administration approved its schizophrenia drug Invega, the FDA required a warning label on the product concerning an increased risk of a potentially fatal side effect.

The retail sector was mixed. Rite Aid added 2 percent to $5.48 even though it took a slight loss in the third quarter, due to an increased volume of prescriptions filled and better pharmacy sales. Best Buy was up 2.7 percent on an upgrade to “outperform” from Credit Suisse. On the other hand, Bed Bath & Beyond dropped 3.6 percent to $38.48. While it said that its profits in the quarter were up 6 percent, this was below what had been expected.