Wall Street was lower in midday trade on light action due to the Columbus Day holiday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.4 percent to 14,015.77, while the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.3 percent to 2,772.26 and the S&P 500 fell 0.5 percent to 1,549.37 ahead of third-quarter results reporting, which begins Tuesday.

Aluminium group Alcoa (NYSE: AA) is scheduled to report first.

ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) was down 1.1 percent to $90.39 after crude oil prices fell nearly $2 per barrel in morning trade, while Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY) was $1.22 lower to $65.19 on an analyst downgrade.

In the mining sector, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (NYSE: FCX) dropped $3.36 to $107.30 on declining copper prices.

In the financial services sector, Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER) fell $2.07 to $74.60 after it said it lost $5 billion on investments related to mortgages and buyout financing, earning it downgrades to “neutral” from both JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM; TYO: 8634) and Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS; SWX: CSGN).

Google (NAS: GOOG; LSE: GGEA) was up 1 percent to $599.80 after reaching a new record of $601.45 earlier in the session.

Wall Street continued its advance after Tuesday’s bounce following the Fed’s rate cut announcement.

In midday trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had added 0.69 percent to 13,833.76 while the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.84 percent to 2,673.9 and the S&P 500 gained 0.83 percent to 1,532.36.

The Russell 2000 of small and mid-caps was 1.63 percent higher to 819.74.

The Labor Department said that the consumer price index was down 0.1 percent in August, while the core CPI was up 0.2 percent.

Neither figure was a surprise to analysts.

In a separate report, the Commerce Department reported new home construction down 2.6 percent in August, the third month in a row of declines.

Despite the drop in the building of new homes, D. R Horton (NSYE: DHI) added 44 cents to $15.74 and Pulte Homes (NYSE: PHM) gained 58 cents to $17.68, helped by the rate cut.

The Fed’s decision also aided mortgage lenders.

Countrywide Financial (NYSE: CFC) was up 95 cents to $20.83, also helped by a positive forecast from the lender’s CEO.

Commodities-related shares were higher as investors assumed that demand would rise following the interest rate cut.

Southern Copper Corp (NYSE: PCU) added 19 cents to $114.72, while Reliance Steel & Aluminum (NYSE: RS) was $1.17 higher to $56.45.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) was $1.85 higher to $105.15, Unites States Steel (NYSE: X) gained $3.20 to $100.95, and US-traded shares of Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP; LSE: RIO; ASX: RIO) jumped $3.62 to $313.42.

The New York equities markets were slightly higher at midday on Monday ahead of the next meeting of the US Federal Reserve and a new decision on interest rates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.1 percent to 12,319.42, while the Nasdaq Composite had added 0.4 percent to 2,446.61 and the S&P 500 had gained 0.2 percent to 1,412.61.

Miners were lower on the session so far. Phelps Dodge dropped 0.3 percent to $123.25 after hedge fund SAC Capital Advisors LLC said they had purchased a stake and that it would oppose the effort by Freeport McMoran to buy the company. Freeport McMoran dropped 0.4 percent to $61.56 on the announcement.

The pharmaceuticals sector was still plagued by bad news from drug trials. Nuvelo was 80 percent lower to $3.92 after it said that clinical trials of two blood thinners it was developing were unsuccessful.

Citigroup was 1.4 percent higher to $52.58 on the news that it is bidding for Egg, Prudential’s internet banking unit.

In the chemicals sector, DuPont added 1.4 percent to $47.57 after it said it had upped its earnings forecast for the year from $2.86 per share to $3.25 per share. It also said it will cut 1,500 positions from its agriculture division.

Among technology companies, Cisco added 1.3 percent to $27.33, near its highest level in a year.

At the mid-point of the trading session on Monday, the New York equities markets were higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.05 percent to 12,348.83. The Nasdaq Composite was 0.3 percent higher to 2,453.64, while the S&P 500 had gained 0.2 percent to 1,403.71.

Consolidation news was in focus. In the mining sector, Freeport-McMoran said it will purchase Phelps Dodge for $25.9 billion in cash and stock. If the deal goes through it will create the largest publicly traded copper company in the world. While Freeport-McMoran dropped 1.2 percent on the news to $56.71, Phelps Dodge added 28.3 percent to $121.87.

Nasdaq offered for the three-quarters of the London Stock Exchange that it doesn’t already own. While the London Stock Exchange rejected the offer on the basis that it “substantially undervalued“ the exchange, Nasdaq’s shares were still 1.6 percent higher to $37.15. Elsewhere in the sector, the New York Mercantile Exchange was up 2.1 percent to $135.75.

In the steel sector, Nucor added 3.4 percent to $59.04. AK Steel was 3.6 percent higher to $15.17, while Steel Dynamics gained 4.4 percent to $62.71 and US Steel was up 6.5 percent to $75.15. All had seen significant gains on Friday as well. Some of the gains came on the news that Evraz Group of Russia said that it will purchase Oregon Steel Mills for $2.3 billion. Oregon Steel Mills was 7.7 percent higher to $63.51.

The New York markets were quiet on Monday due to the Columbus Day holiday, and results were mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.1 percent lower at midday to 11,843.72, while the Nasdaq Composite had added 0.4 percent to 2,308.90 and the S&P 500 was virtually flat, up just half a point to 1,350.08. Besides the effect of the holiday, many investors were waiting for new earnings data to come in before committing themselves.

Chicago exchanges were mixed on the day. While the Chicago Mercantile Exchange added 4.5 percent to $513.05 on reports that it was looking at a possible deal with Deutsche Borse, the Chicago Board of Trade dropped 2.7 percent to $134.03 after the London Metal Exchange denied that the two are in discussions about a takeover of the LME.

Commodities stocks were higher. With crude oil prices up, Noble was 2.1 percent higher to $63.17 and Occidental Petroleum gained 1.5 percent to $46.25. Among companies dealing in metals, Alcoa added 2.1 percent to $28.31, while Freeport McMoran was up 2.8 percent to $54.28.

In a related sector, steel makers were up enough to take the S&P Steel Index to its highest level in three months. Nucor added 6 percent to $54.16, while US Steel gained 6.6 percent to $64.52.

In computer-related sectors, internet search engine Google was 1.9 percent higher to $428.64 on an agreement with Sony BMG and Warner Music to stream music videos. Meanwhile, chipmaker Nvidia added 5 percent to $32.48 to take its gains since July to 80 percent.

Wall Street was mixed on Thursday at mid-session as commodity prices began to rise once again. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 10.81 points below Wednesday’s record high close to 11,839,80, while the S&P 500 was just 0.17 of a point lower to 1,350.05. On the other hand, the Nasdaq Composite had added 0.2 percent to 2,296.14 by midday.

There were gains in the oil and mining sectors on the rising commodity prices. ConocoPhillips added 1.9 percent to $57.87, while oil services company Noble was 3.2 percent higher as OPEC considered cutting production. As industrial metals prices gained ground, Freeport McMoran advanced 4.1 percent to $51.04 and Phelps Dodge gained 4.2 percent to $81.94.

The steel sector was also up, on the news that Tata Steel of India is thinking about bidding for Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus. Nucor added 5 percent to $51.20, while US Steel gained 5.7 percent to $59.16.

In the hotel sector, Starwood Hotels gained 3.3 percent to $59.90, mostly on the strength of Marriott International’s 4 percent gain to $39.88 on its announcement that although its third-quarter profits were down by 5 percent, they were still higher than analysts had predicted.

Things were not as positive in the retail sector. Wal-Mart was 2.2 percent lower to $48.46, while supermarket chain Safeway dropped 3.3 percent to $28.60 and department store Dillard’s dropped 10 percent to $30.26 on flat same-store sales last month.

Wall Street was higher at midday on Tuesday as commodity prices declined, which sent miners and oil stocks lower but helped the retail sector. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.64 percent to 11,745.27, while the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 were each 0.3 percent higher, to 2,243.50 and 1,335.12 respectively.

With gold and copper prices down, miners declined significantly. Newmont Mining dropped 3.4 percent to $41.74, while Freeport McMoran fell 5.1 percent to $50.73.

Oil services companies were lower on dropping crude oil prices. Ensco International declined 3 percent to $40.42 on a downgrade from “overweight” to “neutral” by JPMorgan. Diamond Offshore ell 4.3 percent to $65.58.

The retail sector, however, liked the drop in oil prices on the possibility that lower gasoline and heating oil prices would free up more consumer dollars for other purchases. Limited Brands was 2.8 percent higher to $27.51, while office-supply retailer Staples gained 5.1 percent to $25.50

Semiconductors were lower on the session. Marvell Technology dropped 14.1 percent to $16.40 after saying that it would restate its financial results and after reducing its 2007 revenues outlook. Broadcom declined 3.8 percent to $29.68.

New York equities markets were higher at mid-session on Friday on renewed consumer confidence as new data hinted at moderating inflation and as the price of crude oil continued to decline. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.4 percent to 11, 567.41, poised to end the week with a gain of 1.5 percent. The Nasdaq Composite had added 0.2 percent so far on the session to 2,233.51, up 3.1 percent on the week as a whole. The S&P 500 had added 0.2 percent at noon to 1,319.36, for a total gain of 1.6 percent this week.

All the news wasn’t positive, however. With commodities prices down, miners and the oil sector had a losing week. ExxonMobil was 3.3 percent lower to $64.60. Among miners, Newmont Mining fell 8.6 percent to $44.04, while Freeport McMoran dropped 10.6 percent $52.12. Even coal miners were lower, with Consol Energy declining 8.4 percent on the week to $30.41.

Ford Motor also ended the week lower after it said it will cut 14,000 salaried positions in an attempt to save $5 billion per year. The announcement spurred Merrill Lynch to lower its recommendation on Ford from “neutral” to “sell”. Shares in the carmaker were 9.2 percent lower over the week to $8.25.

Homebuilders had a good week, helped by declining yields on 10-year Treasury issues. DR Horton ended the week 10.2 percent higher to $24.25, while KB Home added 12.7 percent to $45.48.

The retail sector saw gains as well. Wal-Mart gained 3.5 percent to $48.36, while home improvement retailer Home Depot added 7.5 percent to $36.85. Electronics retailers were up after Best Buy reported better than anticipated growth in earnings in the second quarter. Best Buy was 15 percent higher during the week to $53.27, and Circuit City followed it higher, adding 12.6 percent to $25.78.

Declines in the oil and mining sectors sent Wall Street lower by midday on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Nasdaq Composite, and the S&P 500 were all 0.1 percent lower at mid-session, with the Dow at 11,384.27, the Nasdaq at 2,163.86, and the S&P down to 1,297.32.

Concerns that economic growth around the world could slow sent metals prices lower, hurting miners. Newmont Mining was off by 4.3 percent to $46.11 and Barrick Gold was 4.5 percent lower to $29.97, while Freeport McMoran dropped 4.9 percent to $55.44 and Phelps Dodge fell 5.4 percent to $86.16.

Steelmakers were also hurt by dropping commodities prices. US Steel was 4 percent lower to $57.65 and Nucor dropped 5 percent to $47.19. Aluminium producer Alcoa also saw declines, falling 4.5 percent to $27.39.

Oil prices were down for the sixth straight session as OPEC declined to lower production levels and Iran agreed to temporarily halt its uranium enrichment activities. ExxonMobil was 2.5 percent lower to $65.17, while Chevron dropped 3.7 percent to $61.83. Ethanol manufacturer Archier Daniels Midland was also affected, falling 2.8 percent to $38.50.

Dell Computer was also lower at midday after it said it would suspend its share buyback and delay its quarterly report because financial regulators are looking at its records. Dell was 1.4 percent lower to $21.34. Also the victim of bad news, Genentech dropped 6.3 percent to $76.88 after it said that the Food and Drug Administration had asked for more information about the safety of its Avastin cancer drug before it would approve it for use by breast cancer patients.

New York equities markets were up at midday on Tuesday, helped by gains in the oil sector after Chevron said it has made a major oil discovery in the Gulf of Mexico. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2 percent to 11,481.60, while the Nasdaq Composite was 0.6 percent higher to 2,205.85 and the S&P 500 gained 0.2 percent to 1,314.17.

Chevron added 3.4 percent to $67.02 on the news of its discovery, even though crude oil prices were still dropping. Also benefiting from the news was Devon Energy, which gained 11.1 percent to $71.25. Devon drilled the well and owns 25 percent of the project. Gains in the sector weren’t universal, however. Valero was 2.6 percent lower to $56.29 after Morgan Stanley decreased its targets share price and cut its recommendation on the refining sector from “attractive” to “in-line”.

In the semiconductors sector, Advanced Micro Devices added 4.7 percent to $25.81 after reports that Intel could soon cut up to 20,000 jobs.

Among miners, Phelps Dodge was 2.7 percent higher to $93.23 on the news that it will not go forward with its takeover of Inco due to resistance from Inco shareholders. Meanwhile, Freeport McMoran gained 3.6 percent to $61.51 on an upgrade from “hold” to “buy” from Citigroup, which said that demand for copper will remain strong.