Wall Street was up in midday trade on Tuesday after the Dow Jones Industrial Average crossed the 14,000 mark for the first time to a record high of 14,011.51 before dropping back to 13,989.51, still a gain of 0.3 percent at mid-session.

The Nasdaq Composite was 0.4 percent higher to 2,707.94, while the S&P 500 had added 0.2 percent to 1,551.86.

In the computer-related sectors, search engine Yahoo (NAS: YHOO) and semiconductors maker Intel (NAS: INTC; SEHK: 4335) were both higher ahead of their quarterly reports, scheduled to be released after the close of trade.

Yahoo was 4 cents higher to $26.74, while Intel had added 27 cents to $26.22.

Online auctioneer eBay (NAS: EBAY), expected to report on Wednesday, was 9 cents lower to $34.30.

In the media sector, News Corp (NYSE: NSWS, NWSa; LSE: NCRA; ASX: NWS) and Dow Jones (NYSE: DJ) reached a tentative agreement for News Corp to buy the publisher of the Wall Street Journal.

The deal still has to be approved by the Dow Jones board of directors and by the Bancroft family, which controls a majority of Dow Jones stock.

News Corp added 2.7 percent to $24.27 on the news, while Dow Jones fell 0.7 percent to $56.56.

Pharmaceuticals and consumer goods group Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) dropped 2 percent to $63.51 despite a second-quarter report that showed profits were up 9.3 percent and international sales had grown by 18 percent.

In early afternoon trade in New York on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had added 0.34 percent to 13,657.53, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.08 percent to 2,668.52 and the S&P 500 was 0.07 percent higher to 1,531.51.

The gains came as the earnings season was about to get underway.

Mergers and acquisitions activity was in focus with a report that Apollo Management has raised its offer for chemicals group Huntsman (NYSE: HUN) to $28 per share.

Huntsman added 20 cents to $28.20.

FedEx (NYSE: FDX) gained 4.2 percent to $115.51 after a media report that private equity could be interested in making a bid.

Meanwhile, Boeing (NYSE: BA) was 92 cents higher to $99.80 in the wake of its unveiling over the weekend of its new aircraft, the Dreamliner 787.

Reports are that the aerospace group has received enough orders for the new plane that it is sold out until 2015.

Pharmaceutical and consumer products group Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) added $1 to $63.13 after its board approved a share buyback worth $10 billion.

Exchange operators were mixed on the expectation that shareholders in the Chicago Board of Trade (NYSE: BOT) are likely to approve a deal to merge with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (NYSE: CME).

While the Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE), which has also bid in for CBOT, added 46 cents to $156.55, CME dropped $4.29 to $570.51 and CBOT declined $1.60 to $222.40.

Equities markets in New York were lower just past mid-session on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average had dropped 0.2 percent to 12,443.76, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.02 percent to 2,427.16 and the S&P 500 was 0.1 percent lower to 1,421.99.

In the airlines sector, Delta Air Lines added 5 percent to $1.28 despite only a tepid vote of confidence from its creditors committee for its plan to remain an independent carrier as it comes out of bankruptcy. The committee said that it would continue to consider other alternatives. US Airways recently made a hostile bid for Delta.

Johnson & Johnson dropped 0.3 percent to $66.21 because while the US Food and Drug Administration approved its schizophrenia drug Invega, the FDA required a warning label on the product concerning an increased risk of a potentially fatal side effect.

The retail sector was mixed. Rite Aid added 2 percent to $5.48 even though it took a slight loss in the third quarter, due to an increased volume of prescriptions filled and better pharmacy sales. Best Buy was up 2.7 percent on an upgrade to “outperform” from Credit Suisse. On the other hand, Bed Bath & Beyond dropped 3.6 percent to $38.48. While it said that its profits in the quarter were up 6 percent, this was below what had been expected.

The New York equities markets were higher at noon on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.9 percent higher to 12,176.54, while the Nasdaq Composite was up 2.3 percent to 2,384.64 and the S&P 500 had added 1.1 percent to 1,378.94.

Defense companies that saw losses right after Tuesday’s elections regained some of those declines later in the week but still ended the week below their starting levels. Raytheon fell 0.2 percent during the week to $48.90, while Lockheed Martin dropped 1 percent to $86.10 and Northrop Grumman was 1.8 percent lower to $64.73.

Health sectors were affected by the elections on concerns that their prices could be driven down by decisions from the new Democratic majority in Congress. Among the pharmaceuticals companies, Johnson & Johnson fell 3 percent to $65.80, while Pfizer declined 3.7 percent to $25.58 and Merck ended the week 4.9 percent lower to $42.88.

Wal-Mart was 2.2 percent lower on the week to $46.49 on the fears of investors that the new Congress could raise the minimum wage and move to regulate labor more closely.

Homebuilders saw declines as the housing market continued to suffer. Toll Brothers dropped 2.3 percent to $27.59, while DR Horton fell 2.4 percent on a downgrade from Merrill Lynch and Pulte Homes was 2.6 percent lower to $29.32.

Gainers on the week included Four Seasons Hotels, which added 28.3 percent to $81.97 after a private consortium of bidders offered $3.7 billion for the luxury hotel group. OSI Restaurant Partners was 21.6 percent higher to $39.45 after it accepted a $3 billion private bid.

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.

The New York equities markets were higher on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1 percent to 10,858.62, while Nasdaq also added 1 percent and the S&P 500 was up 0.9 percent, to 2,266.98 and 1,265.65 respectively.

Good news came in the form of possible bids in the pharmaceuticals sector and an optimistic guidance report from Cisco Systems, in the technology sector. Cisco gained 7.2 percent to $19.40 despite a report on Tuesday that second-quarter net profits fell 1.8 percent, when the company’s chief executive said that third-quarter sales would be up and reiterated the company’s 10 to 12 percent full-year revenue guidance.

Elsewhere in the technology sector, computer maker Dell gained 6.2 percent to $31.52 when Sanford Bernstein issued an upgrade from “market perform” to “outperform”. Additionally, Hewlett-Packard rose 5.4 percent to $32.01 and IMB gained 1.4 percent to $80.80. Meanwhile, semiconductor equipment maker Applied Materials was up 3.1 percent to $20.10.

The pharmaceuticals sector received help from Pfizer’s announcement that it is considering selling it’s consumer products division, which manufactures products such as Listerine and Sudafed. On an estimate that the unit might be worth upwards of $10 billion, Pfizer’s shares were up 5.7 percent on the day to $26.37. Johnson & Johnson, which is seen as a potential bidder if Pfizer does decide to offer the unit for sale, gained 3.2 percent on the day to $58.60. Elsewhere in the sector, Procter & Gamble advanced 0.3 percent to $59.47.

On the other hand, General Motors received a downgrade from “hold” to “sell” from Deutsche Bank. This news made it the Dow’s biggest decliner of the day. GM lost 3.6 percent to $21.99.