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.

The New York equities markets were mixed at midday on Thursday on new concerns that the housing market in the United States is continuing to slow. The Dow Jones Industrial Average had dropped 0.1 percent to 12,120.19 and the S&P 500 was 0.02 percent lower to 1,381.98. The Nasdaq Composite was 0.03 percent higher to 2,375.4.

Pulte Homes reflected the slowdown in its report of a significant drop in earnings and a warning that fourth-quarter earnings will be much lower than current estimates. Pulte’s shares were 0.7 percent lower to $31.98 in the wake of new data from the Commerce Department that shows the median price of a new home down 9.7 percent in September.

Stock exchanges were also lower on the session so far. Nasdaq dropped 0.5 percent to $36.80. Meanwhile, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, which has agreed to take over the Chicago Board of Trade, dropped nearly 1 percent to $492.10. The Chicago Board of Trade itself dropped even more, by 1.6 percent to $145.08. The NYSE Group, which owns the New York Stock Exchange, fell 1.7 percent to $74.10 despite reporting third-quarter profits had tripled.

In the oil sector, ExxonMobil added 0.2 percent to $71.15 on operating profits that were at $10.5 billion in the quarter, the second highest quarterly profit ever reported by a US company.

Dow Chemical gained 0.9 percent to $40.52 on higher earnings and a share buyback scheme worth $2 billion.

Among retailers, Wal-Mart also added 0.9 percent to $51.30 on the announcement that it is expanding the $4 generic prescription price it introduced in Florida to 12 more states, bringing the total number of states now included in the program to twenty-seven.

Wall Street was lower at midday on Friday and looked to be on track to end the week in the red as investors worried about what the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee will do about interest rates when they meet next week. Also affecting market activity were reports that both the Index of Leading Economic Indicators and durable goods orders were off in May, implying that economic growth in the US is slowing.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average had lost 0.2 percent to 10,995.16 by mid-session, a loss of 0.2 percent for the week. The Dow, however, is still up 2.6 percent for the year so far. The Nasdaq Composite was down 0.1 percent to 2,120.45 at midday, down 0.4 percent on the week. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 was essentially flat, down just 0.95 points to 1,244.65, which brought it to a loss of 0.6 percent for the week.

The biggest gains for the week were in the oil sector, where Kerr-McGee added 33.5 percent to $68.52 and Western Gas Resources gained 41.6 percent to $59.71 on the news that Anadarko Petroleum will purchase both companies. The announcement sent Anadarko down 6.7 percent to $44.99.

General Motors was up 4.4 percent on the week to $26.73 after it was learned that Delphi, GM’s largest parts supplier, has reached a settlement with one of its unions on employee buyouts.

In the banking sector, Morgan Stanley gained 4.1 percent to $59.35 this week after it said profits doubled in the second quarter.

NYSE Group added 8.8 percent to $59.90 after Euronext characterized a modified offer from Deutsche Borse as basically the same as its previous bid and continued to recommend NYSE’s offer for the European stock exchange operator.

Jabil Circuit lost 6 percent over the week to $24.68, for a total decline of over 40 percent since the first of April, after announcing that it had been subpoenaed over its practices in granting stock options.

Univision dropped 6.5 percent to $33.43 after two private equity groups dropped out of one of two consortia bidding for the Spanish language broadcaster.

The New York equities markets were lower at mid-session on Friday, reflecting what looked to end up a losing week for everyone but the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The Dow was lower by 0.1 percent at the mid-point in the day, to 11,009.19, but was on course to finish 1.1 percent higher on the week. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.6 percent on the day so far and down 0.2 percent on the week to 2,130.38. The S&P 500 was 0.5 percent lower on the day to 1,250.24, also 0.1 percent lower over the week.

Oil services companies were off for the week, as Schlumberger was down 2.3 percent to $57.88 and BJ Services also lost 2.3 percent, to $35.24.

Banks were down, as well, though not by as much as they could have been. Lehman Brothers, down by 11 percent at one point in the week, was down 4 percent to $62.97 by mid-session on Friday, and Goldman Sachs was off 4 percent to $143.94 where it had been down by as much as 8.7 percent earlier in the week. Bear Stearns was 3.1 percent lower to $132.18.

Stock exchange operators also ended the week in negative territory. Intercontinental Exchange was down 2.7 percent to $49.45, while Nasdaq lost 3.2 percent to $25.52 and NYSE Group declined by 6.4 percent to $53.50.

Ethanol producer Verasun Energy began trade on Wednesday, gaining 30 percent on its first day of availability. While it lost value on Thursday, mid-day Friday found it still 8.7 percent ahead for the week at $25.00.

Investors seemed to ignore data on inflation to send New York equities markets higher at the mid-point of the day on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average had added 0.8 percent to 10,905.22, while the Nasdaq Composite was up 1.7 percent to 2,120.64 and the S&P 500 gained 1 percent to 1,242.29.

Banks saw gains. Goldman Sachs was up 2.7 percent to $142.26, Lehman Brothers gained 2.9 percent to $62.68, and Bear Stearns added 3.4 percent to $128.37 on a report that profits were up 81 percent in the second quarter.

With crude oil prices rising again, ConocoPhillips gained 2.3 percent to $60.81, while Anadarko Petroleum advanced by 4 percent to $47.25. Ethanol producer Verasun Energy, however, which made its trading debut Wednesday with a gain of 30 percent, dropped 9.7 percent to $27.10.

Stock exchange operators saw gains on the day. Nasdaq was up 6 percent to $26.63, while NYSE Group gained 7.1 percent to $54.50.

Construction machinery manufacturer Caterpillar added 3.9 percent to $70.11 on the news that its quarterly dividend will go up by 20 percent.

In the semiconductor sector, upgrades from “neutral” to “buy” sent both Nvidia and Sandisk higher. Sandisk gained 5 percent to $53.07, while Nvidia was up 7 percent to $21.87.

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.

At the midway point in Friday’s session, the New York equities markets were mixed, but all were looking at losses on the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Averge was down 0.2 percent for the day so far at 10,921.61, and had lost 2.9 percent during the week. The Nasdaq Composite was up 0.5 percent on the day so far, but its loss for the week stood at 3.2 percent. The S&P 500 was 0.1 percent lower for the day, at 1,256.43 and had declined 2.5 percent over the week. Sell-offs were responsible for most of the declines.

Durable goods stocks were down over the week. General Motors lost 5.1 percent to $25.15, while construction equipment manufacturer Caterpillar was down 6.5 percent to $68.10.

Homebuilders were also lower over the week, with the S&P homebuilders index 6.9 percent lower. Pulte lost 10.2 percent to $28.15, while KB Homes was down 11.5 percent to $45.20 and Standard Pacific dropped 13.6 percent to $25.93.

Stock exchanges fell as well, with Nasdaq 8 percent lower at $27.62 and the NYSE Group off by 11.6 percent to $57.87.

Shares in miners lost value with the decline in metals prices. Newmont Mining lost 6.6 percent to $49.77, while Phelps Dodge was down 7.8 percent to $79.95 and Freeport McMoran dropped 12.5 percent on the week to $49.63.

The New York equities markets saw a second day of declines on Tuesday after Monday’s comments on inflation by Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke. By midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had lost 1 percent to 10,941.63. It was the first time since March that the Dow fell below the 11,000 mark. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.1 percent to 2,146.63, and has declined by 9.4 percent in less than two months. The S&P, meanwhile, was 0.8 percent lower on the day so far, to 1,255.84.

Mining stocks were down on declines in the price of gold and copper. Alcoa dropped 3.2 percent to $30.37, while Phelps Dodge was down 3.9 percent to $28.37.

Homebuilders dropped after Wachovia cut its rating on several companies from “outperform” to “market perform”. The downgrades were for Lennar, which was down 4.1 percent to $44.61; for Pulte, which dropped 6.7 percent to $27.75; and for DR Horton, which fell 7.2 percent to $23.02.

Among stock exchange operators, NYSE Group, which entered into an agreement with Euronext last week, was down 5.5 percent to $60.03 after French president Jacques Chirac said that he would rather see the Paris-based Euronext merge with Deutsche Borse, which continues to pursue such a merger. Elsewhere in the sector, Nasdaq dropped 2.5 percent to $28.37, while Intercontinental Exchange lost 3.6 percent to $49.75.

Lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac dropped 2.6 percent to $48.70 and 3.2 percent to $58.19 respectively after Credit Suisse downgraded both.

Internet search engine Google added 1.4 percent to $379.65 on the news that it will make spreadsheet software available online, possibly as a free alternative to Microsoft spreadsheet Excel.

At midday on Friday the New York equities markets were up, ending a largely positive note. Despite troubles early in the week, several new data releases tended to calm investor concerns that interest rates will rise further in the short term. The only real threats to a pause in the interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve came with new data on Friday showing a rise in core inflation added to new home sales figures from earlier in the week that were higher than had been expected.

By mid-session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.5 percent for the day and 1.1 percent on the week to 11,266.36. The Nasdaq Composite was also 0.5 percent higher to 2,208.95, a gain on the week of 0.7 percent. The S&P 500 was up 0.4 percent for the day to 1,278.28, 0.9 percent higher on the week.

There were two IPOs during the week, producing mixed results. MasterCard debuted on Thursday and immediately added 18 percent in its first day of trade. The credit card company lost part of those gains on Friday but was still up 16.2 percent on the week at $45.30 by midday. On the other hand, internet telephone company Vonage began trade on Wednesday and was 212.4 percent lower by mid-session on Friday at $13.36.

Automobile manufacturers had a good week. General Motors added 15.1 percent to $28.41 during the week, mainly on an upgrade to “buy” from Merrill Lynch. Ford Motor was up 4.1 percent during the week, to $7.32 even though S&P said it might issue another credit downgrade on the carmaker. In related stocks, Delphi, GM’s main parts supplier, gained 15.2 percent this week to $1.44 despite ongoing legal disputes with its unions.

Stock exchanges were down on the week. NYSE Group dropped 5.1 percent to $61.21 after making a $10.2 billion dollar bid for Euronext. Nasdaq was also down, by 3.8 percent to $31.78. Intercontinental Exchange lost 18.9 percent during the week to $56.76.