The New York equities markets were up Wednesday at midday as investors waited for the Federal Reserve to issue its latest decision on interest rates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6 percent to 11,603.91, while the Nasdaq Composite was 1.4 percent higher to 2,252.74 and the S&P 500 was also up 0.6 percent to 1,325.90. The S&P was at its highest level since February 2001, while the Dow was approaching its all-time high level.

Oil and oil-related companies were lower, however, as crude oil prices continued to decline. Halliburton was 2.7 percent lower to $28.32, while Marathon Oil dropped 3 percent to $71.26.

The tobacco sector was also lower as Reynolds American was 3.7 percent lower to $62.12 on a downgrade from “buy” to “hold” from Citigroup, which said that product shortages were driving consumers to other brands.

Plumber Masco declined by 2.1 percent to $26.77 after it revised its earnings guidance downward for this year based on the decrease in housing starts.

In the banking sector, however, investment banks saw gains on the day. Morgan Stanley added 0.9 percent to $72.51 on a 59 percent increase in third-quarter earnings, a better performance than had been anticipated. The news helped Bear Stearns, which gained 3.7 percent to $140.20, while Legg Mason was 4 percent higher to $100.87.

Oracle added 11.8 percent higher to $18.04 after it said that its fiscal first quarter profits were up by 29 percent, which its chief executive said was due to an increased market share.

Wall Street results were mixed at midday on Friday, with the Nasdaq Composite down for the week and the day so far, while both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were down on the day but up for the week. The Dow was down 0.3 percent on the day until noon but up 1.4 percent on the week to 10,893.52, while the Nasdaq was 0.5 percent lower for the day and 0.4 percent lower for the week to 2,028.46 and the S&P was down 0.3 percent for the day and 0.7 percent higher over the week.

Computer-related stocks were mixed. Software company Microsoft had a weekly gain of 7.2 percent to $23.90. Even though its quarterly report showed earnings down 24 percent, it was helped by the announcement of a $40 billion share buyback. Among computer makers, Apple Computer added 20.6 percent over the week to $61.09 on profits that were 48 percent higher in the second quarter, but Dell was 12.6 percent lower to $19.14 after it said that profits in the second quarter would not meet predictions. Internet search engine Yahoo fell 20 percent during the week to $25.68 on a 78 percent drop in earnings in the second quarter, even though these losses were expected.

In the semiconductor sector, Advanced Micro Devices was down 11.5 percent this week to $19.12 despite reporting higher profits in the quarter. Investors were worried about lower revenues due to margins that were being cut in the effort to compete with Intel, which dropped 3 percent on the week.

Oil services companies saw losses during the week after oil prices dropped during the week. BJ Services lost 13.3 percent to $30.35, while Halliburton dropped 17.3 percent to $30.55.

The equities markets in New York were mixed without moving much of anywhere by the middle of the afternoon on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.2 percent to 10,762.97. The Nasdaq Composite was also up 0.2 percent to 2,041.49, while the S&P 500 was barely down, just 0.24 points, to 1,235.96. While investors were still concerned about the ongoing unrest in the Middle East, there was some positive data to provide a counterpoint. The Federal Reserve said that industrial output was up in June more than had been expected, with capacity utilization at 82.4 percent. That was the highest it has been since June 2000.

A drop in the price of crude oil sent oil and related stocks down. ConocoPhillips fell 3.3 percent to $65.21, while Halliburton dropped 4.6 percent to $35.12.

Miners were lower as well as the price of copper dropped. Phelps Dodge was down 3.9 percent to $76.71 and Freeport McMoran declined by 4.9 percent to $51.75.

Mattel added 11.6 percent to $17.72 after the toymaker reported that it made a profit in the second quarter, mostly on the sale of toys linked to new movie releases.

In the banking sector, Citigroup dropped 2.4 percent to $46.46. It’s second-quarter report showed that profits were up 4 percent. That was only a bit lower than analysts had predicted, but it was enough for Prudential to downgrade the banker from “overweight” to “neutral weight”.

Wall Street staged a slight recovery on Wednesday morning as investors paid less attention to concerns about inflation. By the middle of the session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had added 0.6 percent to 10,764.73, while the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.5 percent to 2,082.01 and the S&P 500 gained 0.2 percent to 1,225.67.

With metals prices higher, miners took back some of their recent losses. Freeport McMoran and Newmont Mining each added 4 percent, to $45.50 and $49.58 respectively. Still in commodities related stocks, oil and related companies saw gains on the day. Halliburton was up 2.7 percent to $70.12, while Schlumberger gained 2.9 percent to $56.16 and Noble Corporation advanced by 3.8 percent to $65.16.

In semiconductors, upgrades from Goldman Sachs helped out both Intel and Advanced Micro Devices. AMD was up 3.2 percent to $25.18, while Intel gained 4 percent to $17.80 as it was advanced to “outperform”, from “inline”.

Also receiving an upgrade from Goldman Sachs, from “underperform” to “inline” was airplane manufacturer Boeing, which gained 5 percent to $80.74 after Airbus said it would have to delay delivery of its new A380 superjumbo jet.

Among stock exchange operators, NYSE Group was up 1.5 percent to $50.74, while Nasdaq added 4.9 percent to $25.48.

The equities markets were up at midday in New York, with a huge boost from the oil sector as crude oil prices once again increased due to concerns about conditions in Nigerian and Iran and further help from miners as raw materials prices continued to rise.

By mid-session the Dow Jones Industrial Average had added 0.5 percent to 11,177.92, the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.1 percent to 2,341.34, and the S&P 500 gained 0.4 percent to 1,300.06.

Among miners and other companies dealing in metals, gold prices near $600 per troy ounce sent Newmont Mining up 1 percent on the day to $53.28 on top of a 1.6 percent gain last week. Aluminium company Alcoa added 1.3 percent to $32.92 in anticipation of its earnings report due after the close today. Alcoa was also helped out by the announcement of a joint venture in China in which it will purchase 70 percent of an aluminium sheet plant as part of a plant to improve sales to automobile manufacturers in Asia.

In the oil sector, oil producers and field service providers saw advances. ExxonMobil gained 1.1 percent to $61.98. Chevron was up 1.6 percent to $59.59. Halliburton and Occidental Petroleum each added 2.2 percent, to $78.94 and $97.25 respectively.

Video rental chain Blockbuster was up 9.8 percent to $4.60 on an upgrade from “hold” to “buy” from Citigroup. Netflix also benefited from the upgrade with a 2 percent rise to $28.09.

After gains early in the day, the New York equities markets retreated on Tuesday after the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates once again, by 25 basis points to 4.75 percent. The statement that came along with the announcement of the hike, while hinting that the series of rate hikes might come to an end at some point in the foreseeable future, still led some analysts to believe that there are more hikes to come before that time comes.

At mid-afternoon, the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 were both flat on the day, at 2,316.01 and 1,301.67 respectively, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average had dropped by 0.2 percent to 11,226.26.

The pharmaceuticals sector was mixed. Eli Lilly dropped 3.9 percent to $56.36 on a pair of downgrades. Friedman Billings Ramsey cut the drugmaker from “market perform” to “underperform”, while Merrill Lynch reduced its rating from “buy” to “neutral”. Both cited the lack of market share of Lilly’s antidepressent Cymbalta as one reason for the ratings reductions.

Elsewhere in the sector, Immunicon added 9.1 percent to $3.94 after it said it was extending a research and development agreement with Pfizer. Pfizer, meanwhile, was down 1 percent to $25.56 after it was revealed that the company is being sued for fraud over the marketing of its drug Lipitor.

The oil sector saw advances in both companies that produce oil and in those that provide oilfield services. ConocoPhillips gained 2.9 percent to $64.93, while ExxonMobil added 0.7 percent to $61.69. These advances took the Amex oil index up 1.2 percent on the day. Meanwhile, oil service company Halliburton advanced by 3.1 percent to $73.81 and Schlumberger rose 1.8 percent to $125.18.

In midday trade in New York on Thursday, the equities markets were lower as retailers were mixed and banks were down.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average had dropped 0.4 percent to 11,013.50 by mid-session, and the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 had lost 0.3 percent each, to 2,307.93 and 1,287.43 respectively.

Higher bond yields and continuing worries over interest rates sent the banking sector lower. Citigroup and Bank of America each lost 0.9 percent, with Citigroup trading at $46.12 and Bank of America at $45.12. Wells Fargo dropped 1.4 percent to $63.80.

In the retail sector, clothing retailers were generally lower, while department stores and discounters had a better day. On a report of same-store growth, Costco Wholesale was up 0.8 percent to $52.60, while Kohl’s gained 1.1 percent to $49.30 after reporting a rise of 3.4 percent in sales. But the Gap dropped 2.7 percent to $18.15 after it revealed that sales were down 11 percent in February. Meanwhile, Abercrombie & Fitch was down 10.3 percent to $60.35 on a report that same-store sales were up by only 5 percent on February, much less than the 14 percent that had been forecast.

The energy sector was up on higher crude oil prices, with energy providers in the lead. Halliburton added 3.5 percent to $71.81, while Schlumberger gained 2.2 percent to $120.70.