Wall Street dropped at midday on Tuesday as crude oil prices continued to rise and on comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke Monday night that the housing market is a “significant drag” on the economy.

In addition, investors expected more bad news concerning the housing sector when the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo issues its October housing market index later in the day.

At mid-session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.5 percent lower to 13,914.65, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.23 percent to 2,773.78 and the S&P 500 fell 0.52 percent to 1,540.7.

The housing sector was down on Mr. Bernanke’s comments and on separate comments from Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who said in a speech Geogretown University’s law school that the housing slump is the most serious risk currently facing the economy.

DR Horton (NYSE: DHI) dropped 30 cents to $13.80 after it said that orders were down 39 percent in its fiscal fourth quarter, while cancellations were at 48 percent.

Elsewhere in the sector Pulte Homes (NYSE: PHM) fell 32 cents to $14.11 while Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) was 36 cents lower to $21.79, Beazer Homes (NYSE: BZH) was down 41 cents to $8.75, Centex (NYSE: CTX) dropped 69 cents to $25.80 and KB Home (NYSE: KBH) fell 79 percent to $26.91.

The Dow was hurt by losses for General Motors (NYSE: GM), which was down $1.15 to $39.96 after a broker downgrade from “peer perform” to “under perform” from Bear Stearns.

JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM; TYO: 8634) dropped 85 cents to $45.42 ahead of its third-quarter results, due Wednesday, while Citigroup (NYSE: C) was $1.11 lower to $45.14 after it reported Monday that its earnings were down 57 percent in the third quarter due to losses in mortgage-backed securities and higher operating expenses.

Wall Street was higher at midday on Friday after the Commerce Department said that retail sales were up 0.6 percent in September over August’s numbers, twice the gain that had been expected.

In addition, the Labor Department said that wholesale prices added 1.1 percent last month.

However, when food and energy prices were excluded from the data, wholesale prices were only up 0.1 percent.

At mid-session the Dow Jones Industrial Average had added 0.41 percent to 14,073, while the Nasdaq Composite was 0.96 percent higher to 2,799.16 and the S&P 500 gained 0.41 percent to 1,560.86.

Technology-related businesses helped the gains.

Software manufacturer Oracle (NAS: ORCL) was 15 cents higher to $22.61 after it made a $6.66 million bid for rival BEA Systems (NAS: BEAS), which added $4.44 to $18.06.

Chipmaking equipment manufacturers were higher after Korean chipmaker Samsung Electronic Co (SEO: 005930) said it will increase capital spending on the production of semiconductors by over $1 billion.

Rudolph Technologies Inc (NAS: RTEC) was up 38 cents to $13.80, while Applied Materials (NAS: AMAT; SEHK: 4336) gained 81 cents to $20.94 and Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates Inc (NAS: VSEA) added $2.67 to $48.55.

Elsewhere, General Motors (NYSE: GM) added $1.48 to $41.47 after it said that sales in Latin America were up.

General Electric (NYSE: GE) dropped 93 cents to $40.66 even though its earnings were up 14 percent in the third quarter.

In the banking sector, Citigroup (NYSE: C) fell 68 cents to $47.65 after it said it will join its alternative investments and investment banking division into a single business.

The news spurred Deutsche Bank to cut its recommendation on Citigroup from “buy” to “sell” on the grounds that the changes are not enough.

Wall Street was lower after the Institute of Supply Management’s non-manufacturing index, which fell from 55.8 in August to 54.8 last month, showed that the service sector’s expansion slowed in September.

In addition, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported that applications for mortgages were down by 2.7 percent in the week ending 28 September.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.29 percent to 14,006.67 in early afternoon trade, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.16 percent to 2,742.6 and the S&P 500 fell 0.2 percent to 1,543.46.

The airlines sector saw gains as crude oil prices hovered around the $80 per barrel level.

UAL Corp. (NAS: UAUA), the parent company of United Airlines, was up 83 cents to $49.62, while Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) was 51 cents higher to $35.73 and Northwest Airlines (NYSE: NWA) added 35 cents to $18.49 after Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) rated it at “outperform” and assigned a target share price of $23 by the end of next year.

Automakers were mixed after September sales numbers were down over the sector.

General Motors (NYSE: GM) added 80 cents to $37.85 after it said sales were flat last month.

Ford Motor (NYSE: F) dropped 1 cent to $8.56 on its report that sales were down by 21 percent in September, mostly due to a large cut in the number of cars it sold to car rental agencies.

US-listed shares of Toyota Motor (TYO: 7203.T; NYSE: TM; LSE: TYT) were $2.03 lower to $116.20 as its sales were down by 4 percent in September.

Wall Street was higher in early afternoon trade on Wednesday as General Motors (NYSE: GM) and the United Auto Workers reached a tentative agreement in contract negotiations and the UAW called a halt to its two-day-old strike while the contract is being reviewed by the union.

The news of an agreement sent GM’s shares $1.68 higher to $36.10.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.6 percent to 13,861, while the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.81 percent to 2,705.3 and the S&P 500 gained 0.57 percent to 1,525.86.

The Commerce Department reported that durable goods orders were 4.9 percent lower in August, a bigger decline than the 3.5 percent than had been anticipated after orders rose by 6.1 percent in July.

Transportation equipment orders dropped 11.2 percent, with commercial aircraft orders down 41 percent and orders for motor vehicles and parts dropping 6.2 percent.

On the other hand, orders for military aircraft gained 43.2 percent.

Even without the decline in the transport sector, durable goods orders would still have declined by 1.8 percent.

Investment banks saw gains on conjecture that Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) could be in talks to sell a minority share.

Bear Stearns added $4.01 to $118.25, while Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) gained $3.07 to $213.97 and Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) was up $1.42 to $62.79.

In the software sector, open-source software manufacturer Red Hat (NYSE: RHT) was $1 higher to $19.89 after it said profits in its fiscal second quarter were up by 59 percent.

Wall Street was higher in midday trade as investors remained enthusiastic about the interest rate cut issued by the Federal Reserve last week and ahead of home sales data and a regional manufacturing survey due later in the week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.14 percent to 13,839.94, while the Nasdaq Composite had added 0.53 percent to 2,685.51 and the S&P 500 was 0.71 percent higher to 1,526.46.

Carmakers were higher even though the United Auto Workers initiated a strike against General Motors (NYSE: GM).

GM gained 17 cents to $35.10, while Ford Motor (NYSE: F) was up 22 cents to $8.45 after its CEO said that it is talking with possible buyers for its Land Rover and Jaguar brands.

Technology shares were higher.

Apple (NAS: AAPL; LSE: ACP; FWB: APC) hit an all-time high of $149.85 and was trading $4.85 higher to $149 just past midday.

Internet search engine Google (NAS: GOOG; LSE: GGEA) also reached a new record high share price of $571.46 and was trading at $567.96 later in the session, a gain of $7.86.

Microsoft, meanwhile, was 83 cents higher to $29.48 ahead of the release of its “Halo 3” video game, due Tuesday.

Shares of solar power-related companies were higher as a solar power conference opened in Long Beach, California.

SunPower Corp (NAS: SPWR) added $2.14 to $86.01 on positive comment, while Power-One Inc. (NAS: PWER) gained 25 cents to $4.92 after it introduced a new photovoltaic inverter for large commercial solar systems.

Wall Street was higher in midday trade ahead of the Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates, due at mid-afternoon New York time.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.61 percent higher to 13,485.52, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.55 percent to 2,595.83 and the S&P 500 gained 0.71 percent to 1,487.19.

The Labor Department reported that producer prices were down by 1.4 percent overall in August, while core inflation, which removes food and energy costs from the equation, was up 0.2 percent.

The overall decline was the biggest in 10 months, led by energy costs that were 6.6 percent lower.

Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) added $1.72 to $60.34 after it said its profits in the third quarter were down by 3 percent compared to the same period last year, less of a drop than had been expected.

Also reporting was Best Buy (NYSE: BBY).

The consumer electronics retailer said its profits were up 8.7 percent, better than expected sending shares up 4.2 percent to $46.41.

Construction machinery maker Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) gained $1.38 to $75.07 after an analyst said that it would likely meet its goal of $3 billion sales in China by 2010.

General Motors (NYSE: GM) dropped 18 cents to $34.05 as talks with the United Auto Workers continued but the union told members that it might have to impose a deadline on negotiations if progress is not made in relation to several unresolved issues.

The union wants job security guarantees for workers in return for concessions on wages and a health care fund.

Microsoft (NAS: MSFT) dropped another 37 cents to $28.36 on the EU court ruling that went against the software company on Monday.

Boeing (NYSE: BA; TYO: 7661) was $1.57 lower to $97.07 after Banc of America (NYSE: BAC; TYO: 8648) dropped its target share price on the aerospace group from $131 to $114 on developments risks in relation to its 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

New York markets were higher at midday on Thursday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 1.09 percent higher to 13,436.59, while the Nasdaq Composite had added 0.48 percent to 2,604.51 and the S&P 500 had gained 0.96 percent to 1,485.69.

Investor confidence was enhanced after Countrywide Financial (NSYE: CFC) said it has managed to secure $12 billion in credit, making it less likely that it would fall to the subprime crisis.

The Dow was up on gains in the fast food and automobile manufacturing sectors.

General Motors (NYSE: GM) and Ford Motor (NYSE: F) were both up after United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger said he might okay a union-run trust fund for employee health care.

Ford added 34 cents to $7.85, while GM gained $2.38 to $32.62.

In the retail sector, Target (NYSE: TGT) was $1.37 higher to $64.09 after it said it would look at whether it will keep $7 billion in credit card receivables.

Fast food chain McDonald’s was up $2.94 to $54.14 after it said it would up its dividend by 50 percent.

Decliners on the day included chipmaker Intel (NAS: INTC; SEHK: 4335), which dropped 12 cents to $25.34 and media empire Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS), down 5 cents to $33.67.

Wall Street was substantially lower in midday trade Friday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 1.56 percent lower to 13,155.25, while the Nasdaq Composite had dropped 1.86 percent to 2,565.73 and the S&P 500 was down 1.45 percent to 1,457.08.

The decline came after the Labor Department reported that there were 4,000 fewer jobs in August, the first time in 4 years that the number of jobs has dropped.

Some analysts believe that the new data seals the case for a drop in interest rates in September, even though the unemployment rate was reported to have remained at 4.6 percent.

Investors were also worried by comments from former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan, who compared the current state of the markets to conditions ahead of the 1987 “Black Monday” crash.

There were declines in a variety of sectors.

General Motors (NYSE: GM) was $1.20 lower to $29.85 after Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) cut the auto maker’s target share price from $42 to $37 reduced its earnings estimates through 2009.

In a related sector, motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson (NYSE: HOG) dropped $5 to $49.09 after it said its earnings will drop by 4 to 6 percent in 2007.

Aluminium producer Alcoa (NYSE: AA) was down $1.55 to $34.95, while chipmaker Intel fell 75 cents to $25.40.

There were some gainers on the session. Citigroup (NYSE: C) was up 19 cents to $45.85. Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) was up 1 cent to $54.67.

The New York markets were up in early afternoon trade on Tuesday.

At just past 1 p.m. local time the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.43 percent higher to 13,415.21, while the Nasdaq Composite ha added 1.2 percent to 2,627.62 and the S&P 500 was up 0.9 percent to 1,4878.2.

The automobile manufacturing sector was higher even though Ford Motor (NYSE: F) said that sales were 14.4 percent lower in August, worse than the 13.2 percent decline that analysts had anticipated.

Car sales were down 33.7 percent while truck sales were 2.4 percent lower overall.

Still, Ford was up 9 cents to $7.90, while General Motors added 40 cents to $31.14.

A little earlier, at midday, the semiconductors sector was up on an upgrade for Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) and on a report from the Semiconductor Industry Association that said global chip sales were up 2.2 percent in July.

AMD was 29 cents higher to $13.29 after Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS; NYSE: CSGN) raised its recommendation on the chipmaker from “underperform“ to “neutral“.

Intel (NAS: INTC; SEHK: 4335) had gained 55 cents to $26.30, while Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) added $1.14 to $35.38.

Apple (NAS: AAPL) added $4.96 to $143.44 on a report that its iPhone sold better than all other smart phones in the US in July.

In the internet sector, Yahoo (NAS: YHOO) was up $1.31 to $24.04 after Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) named it a top pick.

Wall Street was mixed in early afternoon trade in New York Tuesday as investors waited for the US Federal Reserve to issue its latest decision on interest rates before committing to anything serious.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.03 percent lower to 13,464.88, while the Nasdaq Composite had dropped 0.09 percent to 2,544.98 but the S&P 500 had added 0.19 percent to 1,470.52.

In addition to the expected rate decision, investors were also looking at new data from the Labor Department that showed productivity was up by 1.8 percent on an annualized basis in the spring quarter.

Among those reporting quarterly results, Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) added 40 cents to $18.30 even though it said profits were down in the second quarter.

Cisco Systems (NAS: CSCO; SEHK: 4333) dropped 13 cents to $29.37 ahead of a quarterly report that was due after the close of trade on the session.

Hurting the Dow were Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT), which was 42 cents lower to $80.58 and aerospace group Boeing (NYSE: BA), which fell $1.32 to $103.02.

Carmakers saw gains.

Ford Motor (NYSE: F) had added 6 cents to $8.25, while General Motors (NYSE: GM) was up 58 cents to $33.03.

Financial services were higher. Citigroup (NYSE: C) was 15 cents higher to $48.50 and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) added 40 cents to $48.56, while Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER; TYO: 8675) gained $1.28 to $75.83 and Goldman Sachs was $3.42 higher to $75.83.