Wall Street was higher on Wednesday after the US Federal Reserve voted to leave interest rates at 5.25 percent for another month. The accompanying statement pronounced the economy “somewhat firmer” and said that the Federal Open Market Committee, the Fed’s decision-making body, will continue to keep an eye on inflation.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, already up a bit before the decision, extended its gains to 0.7 percent to 12,607.67 by mid-afternoon. The Nasdaq Composite, lower before the announcement, was 0.4 percent higher to 2,457.81 afterwards. The S&P 500, steady earlier in the session, also added 0.4 percent, to 1,435.04.

Despite a fourth-quarter report that showed profits more than double, the Chicago Board of Trade dropped 0.4 percent to $168.40. Time Warner also saw declines, falling 0.9 percent to $21.84, even thought its profits were up by more than 30 percent in the fourth quarter.

In the tobacco sector, Altria dropped 0.3 percent to $87.27 even though its earnings in the fourth quarter were at $1.40 per share, significantly above the $1.23 per share that had been anticipated.

Eastman Kodak added 1.9 percent to $26 as it posted a profit in the fourth quarter, after having posted losses in the same quarter of 2005.

Bristol-Myers Squibb gained 2.5 percent to $28.74 on a report that Lehman Brothers will join Citigroup and Morgan Stanley to advise the pharmaceutical company of its options approaching a takeover bid that is expected from Sanofi Aventis.

The Dow gained on a 4.6 percent rise by Boeing to $89.98 after the aerospace firm raised its earnings guidance for this year after reporting earnings of $1.16 per share in the fourth quarter of 2006, better than the 98 cents per share that had been expected.

Equities markets in New York were lower at midday on Tuesday as newly released data on personal consumption and manufacturing re-ignited fears that the Federal Reserve will issue another interest rate hike when it meets next week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.6 percent lower at mid-session, to 11,114.12. The S&P 500 had also dropped 0.6 percent, to 1,268.92, while the Nasdaq Composite was down by 1.3 percent to 2,063.52.

Some of the declines in individuals stocks were substantial. Shipper Expeditors International fell 12.6 percent to $39.75 even though second quarter profits were up 53 percent. The increase in profits was lower than had been predicted by analysts. Eastman Kodak dropped 11.3 percent to $19.74 on its seventh losing quarterly report in a row. Kodak’s revenues were down by 9 percent on slow sales of photographic film. Whole Foods declined by 11.1 percent to $51.11 even though the natural foods retailer saw its third quarter profits grow by 33 percent, well ahead of expectations.

With its quarterly report due out later in the day, Starbucks dropped 4.5 percent to $32.68, its lowest share price in six months. Molson Coors also declined even though its results in the quarter were better than had been expected. The brewer lost 6.1 percent to $67.06.

In the telecommunications sector, on the other hand, Qwest reported that it achieved profits in its second quarter after losing $164 million in the second quarter last year. Qwest added 5.8 percent to $8.24.

New York equities markets were mixed on the day on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.2 percent to 10,473.09 and the S&P 500 gained 0.1 percent to 1,216.89, but the Nasdaq composite lost 0.1 percent to 2,115.40.

Significant gains were seen in the payroll and human services outsourcing sector as payroll company Paychex gained 9.3 percent to $37.25 on an announcement that it has had a 31 percent increase in profits and on a positive forecast for the upcoming quarter.

This good news helped rival Ceridian gain 2.6 percent to $20.74, while Automatic Data Processing rose 2.2 percent to $43.13 and Administaff was up 4 percent to $37.96. Administaff has gained nearly 200 percent so far this year.

Rising oil prices helped out the oil sector as Kerr-McGee was up 1.4 percent to $96.89, although ExxonMobil only gained 0.1 percent to $64.70. Auto-parts manufacturer Delphi lost 3.6 percent to $2.65 as it was in talks with General Motors aimed at restructuring GM so that the carmaker can avoid bankruptcy. GM, meanwhile, gained 0.2 percent to $30.84 on a 3-year agreement with labor unions to derail a possible strike.

Elsewhere, Eastman Kodak fell 0.5 percent to $24.89 on less-than-anticipated profits from digital photography. Apple Computer lost 4.4 percent to $51.80 on reports of defective screens on its new iPod nano.