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 lower in midday trade on Monday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.4 percent to 13,389.36, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.9 percent to 2,578.74 and the S&P 500 was 0.66 percent lower to 1,474.52.

Investor uncertainty ahead of tomorrow’s interest rate decision from the Federal Reserve and before several brokers release their quarterly results later in the week.

Brokerages declined ahead of results, with Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) 87 cents lower to $58.64.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) dropped $1.75 to $64.36, Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER; TYO: 8675) was down $2.10 to $72.55, and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) fell $3.32 to $187.27.

Most chipmakers were lower on the session.

The main exception was Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD), which added 10 cents to $12.79 by midday after an upgrade to “neutral” from “underweight” from JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM; TYO: 8634).

Texas Instruments (NSYE: STM) dropped 1 cent to $34.67, while Intel (NAS: INTC; SEHK: 4335) was 9 cents lower to $24.84. Broadcom (NAS: BRCM) fell 70 cents to $34.80, while US-traded shares of STMicroelectronics (NSYE: STM; Euronext: STM) were down 58 cents to $16.11.

After a European Union court dismissed Microsoft’s (NAS: MSFT) appeal of a EU antitrust ruling and upheld the fine issued with the ruling, the software giant dropped 37 cents to $28.67.

Wall Street was higher in early afternoon trade Tuesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.04 percent higher to 13,126.39, while the Nasdaq Composite had added 0.48 percent to 2,520.55 and the S&P 500 was up 0.25 percent to 1,449.22.

The oil sector declined as oil prices fell below $70 per barrel in New York as Hurricane Dean weakened with no lasting damage to oil production facilities in the Gulf of Mexico.

Chevron (NYSE: CVX) was 20 cents lower to $84.69, while ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) dropped $1.21 to $78.65 and ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) fell $1.28 to $83.25.

The declining oil prices sent AMR (NYSE: AMR), the parent company of American Airlines, $1.34 higher to $23.55.

Most banks were higher after Senate Banking Committee Chairman and Democratic presidential candidate Christopher Dodd said after a meeting with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson that that Mr. Bernanke said that he was willing to do whatever necessary to calm the markets.

This led some analysts to speculate that there will soon be a cut in US interest rates.

While JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM; TYO: 8634) was 1 cent lower to $46.48, Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) had added 31 cents to $62.97, Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER; TYO: 8675) was up 74 cents to $75.64 and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) had gained $3.74 to $176.50.

The telecommunications sector was also higher.

Sprint-Nextel (NYSE: S) was 15 cents higher to $18.41, while AT&T (NYSE: T) had added 46 cents to $39.11.

Wall Street was lower in early afternoon trade on Monday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was back down below the 13,000 level to trade at 12,993.32, a decline of 0.66 percent, just before 1:30 pm in New York, while the Nasdaq Composite had dropped 0.64 percent to 2,489.1 and the S&P 500 was 0.99 percent lower to 1,431.6.

The retail sector was mixed.

Rite-Aid (NYSE: RAD) was even at $4.88, while Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) had dropped 25 cents to $43.24.

Home improvement retailers, however, saw gains after Lowe’s (NYSE: LOW) reported that its earnings were at 67 cents per share in the second quarter, against expected earnings of 61 cents per share.

Despite dropping its forecasts for the third quarter and the full year, Lowe’s added $1.51 to $28.38, while rival Home Depot (NYSE: HD) gained 19 cents to $33.50.

The financial services sector saw declines.

Troubled mortgage lender Countrywide Financial (NYSE: CFC) was down $1.43 to $20.

Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) dropped 61 cents to $36.63, while Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) fell 84 cents to $61.39, Citigroup (NYSE: C) was 86 cents lower to $47.95 and Bank of America was down 96 cents to $50.80.

JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM; TYO: 8634) fell $1.44 to $45.57, Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) was down $1.78 to $56.30, Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER; TYO: 8675) dropped $2.01 to $74.03, and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) was $3.87 lower to $171.13.

Wall Street was lower in afternoon trade Friday after the US Federal Reserve made two injections of cash into the market during the day, one of $19 billion, followed by $16 billion more.

These came on the heels of two separate cash additions into the market on Thursday, totaling $24 billion.

There is some sentiment that the Fed might issue an emergency interest rate cut in response to the current difficulties in the US markets, although some analysts believe the Fed will hold on until September’s scheduled meeting to issue a rate cut.

Others call a cut now “counterproductive”, saying it could weaken the dollar and cause more harm than good.

In early afternoon trade in New York the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.04 percent to 13,132.4, while the Nasdaq Composite had dropped 1 percent to 2,530.95 and the S&P 500 was 0.81 percent lower to 1,441.28.

Most of the financial services sector was lower, but Bank of America (NYSE: BAC; TYO: 8648) had added 14 cents to $48.49.

Citigroup (NYSE: C) had dropped 13 cents to $46.77, while JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM; TYO: 8634) fell 33 cents to $43.85.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) was $1.36 lower to $60.45 and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) had fallen $3.41 to $178.84.

Mortgage lender Countrywide Financial (NYSE: CFC) dropped $1.65 to $27.01 after saying in a regulatory filing on Thursday that the current trouble in the credit and subprime mortgage markets could hurt its short-term prospects.

Elsewhere, the aerospace sector was also lower.

Honeywell (NYSE: HON) was down $1.18 to $55.60, while Boeing (NYSE: BA; TYO: 7661) fell $1.43 to $96.87.

Among the few gainers in early afternoon trade were chipmaker Intel (NAS: INTC; SEHK: 4335), which had added 25 cents to $24.17.

In the computers sector, Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) was up 92 cents to $47.94 and IBM (NYSE: IBM) had gained $1.78 to $112.51.

ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) was up 65 cents to $84.25.

Wall Street was lower in early afternoon trade on Wednesday after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke made worrying remarks in testimony before Congress and as brokerages took losses after a downgrade of the biggest names in the sector.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.72 percent lower to 13,871, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.02 percent and the S&P 500 fell 0.65 percent to 1,539.34.

An analyst at Punk Ziegel & Co downgraded the top five brokerages from “market perform” to “sell” after Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) said that two of its hedge funds holding subprime mortgage assets have lost almost everything.

Bear Stearns dropped $2.12 to $137.79, while Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) was 2.31 percent lower to $70.75, Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) fell $2.71 to $70.14, Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER: TYO: 8675) was down $3.30 to $82.90, and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) fell $6.55 to $212.85.

Meanwhile, Mr. Bernanke’s comments in his testimony before Congress were full of concern about inflation and the state of the housing market, culminating in a lower forecast for US economic growth this year and next.

Among housebuilders, Pulte Homes (NYSE: PHM) dropped 3.8 percent to $21.85 after it predicted losses in the second quarter.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) was 4.6 percent lower to $24.78 after both earnings and revenues were lower than had been anticipated.

In the internet sector, Yahoo (NAS: YHOO) was down $1.37 to $26.16 after its second quarter results were about as expected but it lowered its guidance for the third quarter.

Intel (NAS: INTC; SEHK: 4335) dropped $1.32 to $25.01 even though quarterly earnings were better than had been anticipated but gross margins were reported to have dropped.

In New York, midday saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 all 0.2 percent higher. The Dow stood at 12,283.21, 1.4 percent higher for the week. The Nasdaq was at 2,391.51, while the S&P had added 1.3 percent on the week to 1,404.76.

Mortgage lender New Century Financial (NYSE: NEW) lost more than 18 percent to $3.05 after it said it was no longer accepting loan applications due to lack of support from its creditors. Many analysts expect the lender to enter bankruptcy soon.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), which lends money to New Century, managed to gain 5.6 percent over the week anyway, to $75.62. Meanwhile, Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) added 6.6 percent this week to $75.79.

Steel makers also saw substantial gains on the week. US Steel (NYSE: X) was 5.9 percent higher to $91.08, while Nucor (NYSE: NUE) gained 10.9 percent to $64.19. Nucor made positive comments pertaining to coming demand for steel.

Tire maker Goodyear (NYSE: GT), up 26 percent so far this year, added 5.6 percent during the week to $28.76. The gains were explained by analysts as the result of a new study showing that Americans have begun replacing the tires on their cars more frequently.

Declines came in sectors as diverse as the internet and retail. Internet search engine Yahoo (NAS: YHOO) dropped 5.4 percent to $29.04 on rumors that it is talking to AT&T (NYSE: T) about changes in their partnership. Meanwhile, warehouse retailer Costco (NAS: COST) fell 2.9 percent to $54.12 on new sales and profits data that did not please analysts.

Wall Street was mixed at midday on Friday as some quarterly reports failed to inspire investors.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.21 percent lower to 12,541.50, while the Nasdaq Composite had added 0.04 percent to 2,444.11 and the S&P 500 was 0.11 percent higher to 1,427.87.

IBM dropped $3.82 to $95.63 even though it reported profits that were better than anticipated in the fourth quarter.  A portion of the increase in profits was due to a change in IBM’s tax rates.  Meanwhile, General Electric dropped 79 cents to $37.21 on disappointing results in its fiscal first quarter.

Citigroup also saw declines, with its share price dropping 34 cents to $54.05 due to a 26 percent decrease in profits in the fourth quarter.

Motorola added 67 cents to $19.38.  It had warned in January that its fourth quarter profits would not meet expectations due to discounts on mobile phones.  And, indeed, its earnings were lower, but turned out to be better than the warnings had led investors to expect.

Mergers and acquisitions also played into the days results.  Morgan Stanley added 55 cents to $81.76 after its real estate unit said it would buy hotel real-estate investment trust CNL Hotel & Resorts, spending $3.13 billion on the transaction.  Abbott Laboratories added 61 cents to $53.40, its highest share price in a year, after it said it will sell part of its medical testing division to General Electric.

Wall Street was slightly lower at midday on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 0.2 percent to 12,417.80. The Nasdaq Composite had lost 0.7 percent by mid-session, to 2,418.17, while the S&P 500 was 0.2 percent lower to 1,419.03. The small-cap Russell 2000 was down 0.3 percent to 779.90.

The New York Stock Exchange dropped 0.7 percent to $100.69 on the news that Euronext stockholders have approved a merger between the two exchange operators.

Electronics retailers were also lower. Best Buy fell 3 percent to $47.87, while Circuit City was 18.2 percent lower to $18.61. Circuit City’s declines came after the announcement that it had lost 9 cents per share its fiscal third quarter after having projected a profit of 5 cents per share.

Digital security company Applied Signal was down 16 percent to $13.22 after its quarterly report showed that its profits were only 5 cents per share, well below the expected 22 cent per share profit.

Software manufacturer Oracle dropped 4.4 percent to $17.13 even though its earnings report, released Monday, said that the company had equaled expectations.

Morgan Stanley, on the other hand, added 2 percent, to $81.96 after its profits hit $2.08 per share, well above its predicted profit of $1.77 per share.

The New York equities markets were lower at midday on Monday as investors returned from the long Thanksgiving Day weekend. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 1 percent lower to 12,154.4, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.7 percent to 2,418.55 and the S&P 500 fell 1 percent to 1,386.74.

Retailers saw losses even though the National Retail Federation reported that average spending for the start of the holiday shopping season was up 18.9 percent from last year over the same period. JC Penney dropped 1 percent to $79.91 despite it’s statement Saturday that it was seeing a “good start” in holiday sales. Wal-Mart fell 1.8 percent to $47.06 after it said over the weekend that same-store sales in the US were down 0.1 percent in November, the first time it has seen a decline in that month in ten years. J Crew was 4.4 percent lower to $41.37 on a rating downgrade from CIBC, after gaining 22 percent last week on its profits report.

Stock exchanges were mixed. Nasdaq added 0.7 percent to $40.93 after elaborating on how it plans to raise the money for its bid on the London Stock Exchange. On the other hand, NYSE Group dropped 2.2 percent to $105.84 and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange fell 2.6 percent to $2.55.

The financial services sector was lower as Goldman Sachs declined 2.1 percent to $197.37. Morgan Stanley and Bear Stearns each fell 2.4 percent, to $77.06 and $154.76 respectively.

Automobile maker Ford Motor was 2.7 percent lower to $8.21 on its announced plan to borrow $18 million dollars. It said it would back the loans with collateral.

Internet search engine Google dropped 2.6 percent to $491.98 on profit-taking.