Technology-related sectors were up in New York on Thursday but health care and pharmaceuticals companies were lower, resulting in mixed results on Wall Street at midday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.3 percent lower to 12,142.37, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.42 percent to 2,395.03 and the S&P 500 dropped 0.04 percent to 1,385.12.
In health sectors, Johnson & Johnson was 1.25 percent lower to $70.29 and Pfizer fell 1.8 percent to $26.14. HealthSouth was 6.1 percent lower to $20.65 after its report for the third quarter showed losses related to price pressure in all its units, while it had fewer patients in its acute-care hospital unit. Elsewhere, 3M was a bit lower to $79.24 on the news that it is selling its pharmaceuticals interests.
Cisco Systems added 7.3 percent to $26.93 on a report that its net income was $1.61 billion in the quarter. Computer maker Dell gained 2.8 percent to $24.85 after it said it will expand its customer call center in Ottawa, adding 1,000 employees. Apple Computer, meanwhile, was 1.64 percent higher to $83.80 on reported interest in its new iPod Shuffle.
The oil sector was higher on gains in the price of crude oil, with ExxonMobil and Chevron each adding 1.1 percent, to $74.64 and $70.29 respectively.
The media sector was mixed. News Corporation added 0.2 percent to $21.90 on a better than anticipated quarterly report, while Disney gained 1.2 percent to $33.48 ahead of its report, due later in the day. Viacom, however, was 2.2 percent lower to $38.81 after its third quarter report showed that profits were down by 16 percent in the third quarter.