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 a bit lower at midday on Tuesday as investors waited to see whether or not the US Federal Reserve would leave interest rates at 5.25 percent as expected. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.1 percent lower to 12,315.9, while the Nasdaq Composite had dropped 0.2 percent to 2,437.31 and the S&P 500 remained steady at 1,412.90 in the middle of the trading day.

The Nasdaq Stock Market added 0.5 percent to $36.47 after it made its hostile takeover bid for the London Stock Exchange official by offering $5.3 billion for the exchange. Nasdaq already owns 28.75 percent of the LSE.

Texas Instruments added 0.4 percent to $29.42 after seeing declines overnight after it cut its earnings and sales projections for the fourth quarter. The gains came after JP Morgan upgraded its recommendation on the chipmaker from “neutral” to “overweight”.

In the steel sector, Nucor dropped 8.1 percent to $59.12 after it used low prices and high inventories as its excuse for issuing a fourth-quarter prediction that was below analyst estimates. The decline affected the sector, with US Steel falling 5.2 percent to $73.20.

Best Buy was 5.1 percent lower to $51.19 after it said that its net income was 31 cents per share, lower than the 35 cents per share expected by analysts.

The New York equities markets were mixed at the mid-point in the session on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite lower and the S&P 500 up slightly. The Dow was 0.02 percent lower to 12,314.54, while the Nasdaq had dropped 0.1 percent to 2,449.87. Meanwhile, the S&P was 0.08 percent higher to 1,401.57.

Google’s share price rose above $500 for the first time as it added 1.8 percent to $504.13 after going as high as $505.72 earlier in the day. Google has gained 37.6 percent since the beginning of August.

Boeing was up 1.6 percent to $90.54 on the news that Korean Air has placed an order for 25 aircraft. The order was said to be worth $5.5 billion dollars.

Oregon Steel Mills dropped 1.2 percent to $63 after its 8.2 percent gain on Monday after it was announced that Russian company Evraz Group will buy the steel maker. Elsewhere in the sector, share prices were up. Nucor added 2.5 percent to $58.88.

Dell Computer was 1.1 percent higher to $24.92 ahead of its quarterly report, due after trade closes for the day. The report, which was originally supposed to have been released last Thursday, is widely expected to show a drop in earnings per share of almost 40 percent.

Nasdaq dropped 0.9 percent to $37.37 amid speculation that it is thinking about raising its offer for the London Stock Exchange after its most recent bid was rejected on Monday.

At the mid-point of the trading session on Monday, the New York equities markets were higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.05 percent to 12,348.83. The Nasdaq Composite was 0.3 percent higher to 2,453.64, while the S&P 500 had gained 0.2 percent to 1,403.71.

Consolidation news was in focus. In the mining sector, Freeport-McMoran said it will purchase Phelps Dodge for $25.9 billion in cash and stock. If the deal goes through it will create the largest publicly traded copper company in the world. While Freeport-McMoran dropped 1.2 percent on the news to $56.71, Phelps Dodge added 28.3 percent to $121.87.

Nasdaq offered for the three-quarters of the London Stock Exchange that it doesn’t already own. While the London Stock Exchange rejected the offer on the basis that it “substantially undervalued“ the exchange, Nasdaq’s shares were still 1.6 percent higher to $37.15. Elsewhere in the sector, the New York Mercantile Exchange was up 2.1 percent to $135.75.

In the steel sector, Nucor added 3.4 percent to $59.04. AK Steel was 3.6 percent higher to $15.17, while Steel Dynamics gained 4.4 percent to $62.71 and US Steel was up 6.5 percent to $75.15. All had seen significant gains on Friday as well. Some of the gains came on the news that Evraz Group of Russia said that it will purchase Oregon Steel Mills for $2.3 billion. Oregon Steel Mills was 7.7 percent higher to $63.51.

The New York markets were quiet on Monday due to the Columbus Day holiday, and results were mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.1 percent lower at midday to 11,843.72, while the Nasdaq Composite had added 0.4 percent to 2,308.90 and the S&P 500 was virtually flat, up just half a point to 1,350.08. Besides the effect of the holiday, many investors were waiting for new earnings data to come in before committing themselves.

Chicago exchanges were mixed on the day. While the Chicago Mercantile Exchange added 4.5 percent to $513.05 on reports that it was looking at a possible deal with Deutsche Borse, the Chicago Board of Trade dropped 2.7 percent to $134.03 after the London Metal Exchange denied that the two are in discussions about a takeover of the LME.

Commodities stocks were higher. With crude oil prices up, Noble was 2.1 percent higher to $63.17 and Occidental Petroleum gained 1.5 percent to $46.25. Among companies dealing in metals, Alcoa added 2.1 percent to $28.31, while Freeport McMoran was up 2.8 percent to $54.28.

In a related sector, steel makers were up enough to take the S&P Steel Index to its highest level in three months. Nucor added 6 percent to $54.16, while US Steel gained 6.6 percent to $64.52.

In computer-related sectors, internet search engine Google was 1.9 percent higher to $428.64 on an agreement with Sony BMG and Warner Music to stream music videos. Meanwhile, chipmaker Nvidia added 5 percent to $32.48 to take its gains since July to 80 percent.

Wall Street was mixed on Thursday at mid-session as commodity prices began to rise once again. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 10.81 points below Wednesday’s record high close to 11,839,80, while the S&P 500 was just 0.17 of a point lower to 1,350.05. On the other hand, the Nasdaq Composite had added 0.2 percent to 2,296.14 by midday.

There were gains in the oil and mining sectors on the rising commodity prices. ConocoPhillips added 1.9 percent to $57.87, while oil services company Noble was 3.2 percent higher as OPEC considered cutting production. As industrial metals prices gained ground, Freeport McMoran advanced 4.1 percent to $51.04 and Phelps Dodge gained 4.2 percent to $81.94.

The steel sector was also up, on the news that Tata Steel of India is thinking about bidding for Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus. Nucor added 5 percent to $51.20, while US Steel gained 5.7 percent to $59.16.

In the hotel sector, Starwood Hotels gained 3.3 percent to $59.90, mostly on the strength of Marriott International’s 4 percent gain to $39.88 on its announcement that although its third-quarter profits were down by 5 percent, they were still higher than analysts had predicted.

Things were not as positive in the retail sector. Wal-Mart was 2.2 percent lower to $48.46, while supermarket chain Safeway dropped 3.3 percent to $28.60 and department store Dillard’s dropped 10 percent to $30.26 on flat same-store sales last month.

Declines in the oil and mining sectors sent Wall Street lower by midday on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Nasdaq Composite, and the S&P 500 were all 0.1 percent lower at mid-session, with the Dow at 11,384.27, the Nasdaq at 2,163.86, and the S&P down to 1,297.32.

Concerns that economic growth around the world could slow sent metals prices lower, hurting miners. Newmont Mining was off by 4.3 percent to $46.11 and Barrick Gold was 4.5 percent lower to $29.97, while Freeport McMoran dropped 4.9 percent to $55.44 and Phelps Dodge fell 5.4 percent to $86.16.

Steelmakers were also hurt by dropping commodities prices. US Steel was 4 percent lower to $57.65 and Nucor dropped 5 percent to $47.19. Aluminium producer Alcoa also saw declines, falling 4.5 percent to $27.39.

Oil prices were down for the sixth straight session as OPEC declined to lower production levels and Iran agreed to temporarily halt its uranium enrichment activities. ExxonMobil was 2.5 percent lower to $65.17, while Chevron dropped 3.7 percent to $61.83. Ethanol manufacturer Archier Daniels Midland was also affected, falling 2.8 percent to $38.50.

Dell Computer was also lower at midday after it said it would suspend its share buyback and delay its quarterly report because financial regulators are looking at its records. Dell was 1.4 percent lower to $21.34. Also the victim of bad news, Genentech dropped 6.3 percent to $76.88 after it said that the Food and Drug Administration had asked for more information about the safety of its Avastin cancer drug before it would approve it for use by breast cancer patients.

Wall Street was down on Wednesday as investors expressed fears over missile tests conducted by North Korea as the United States celebrated Independence Day. At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had dropped 0.7 percent to 11,145.26, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.7 percent to 2,152.72 and the S&P 500 fell 0.9 percent to 1,268.94.

Miners were down and so was the steel sector. Among miners, Phelps Dodge dropped 1.9 percent to $82.05, while Freeport McMoran was down 4.3 percent to $56.00.

In the steel sector, US Steel declined by 3 percent to $68.08. Nucor was down 3.3 percent to $54.08.

Airlines saw gains on the release of new data on passenger traffic. Continental Airlines and Southwest Airlines each added 1.6 percent by mid-session on the news that passenger traffic had increased for both carriers in June. Continental was trading at $29.98, while Southwest was at $16.74.

McGraw Hill gained 2.1 percent to $51.39 after Citigroup upgraded the publisher of Business Week from “hold” to “buy”.

Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly also got a boost as Goldman Sachs upgraded its shares from “in line” to “outperform”, adding 1.1 percent to $56.28.

The semiconductor sector, however, saw declines. Advanced Micro Devices dropped 1.3 percent to $24.28, while Intel declined by 2 percent to $18.98. Marvell Technology was down by 7.9 percent to $41.32 after it said that the Securities and Exchange Commission had asked it to supply documents concerning its practices surrounding the granting of stock options.

The New York equities markets had moved very little by midday on Thursday after sell-offs on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was essentially flat, losing only 5,52 points to 11,200.09. The Nasdaq Composite was up by just 3.24 points to 2,199.04, while the S&P 500 dropped 1.19 points to 1,269.13.

Gains in the retail sector helped the S&P. Limited Brands was up 5.4 percent to $26.66 after a quarterly report that showed income up 19 percent in the first quarter. The report persuaded Morgan Stanley to upgrade the clothing retailer from “equal weight” to “overweight”. Sears Holdings also revealed a good earnings report, leading to a gain of 12.4 percent to $153.09.

In the steel sector, Nucor was up 1.9 percent to $107.45 after it said it will build a plant in the Western US. US Steel, meanwhile, added 2.2 percent to $65.70.

Burger King added 4.2 percent to $17.72 and more than 15 million shares were traded as the fast-food chain began trade on the stock market.

Pharmaceutical company Merck was up 0.8 percent to $34.62 in anticipation of an advisory committee meeting at the Food and Drug Administration which will look at a drug intended to prevent viruses that are believed to cause cervical cancer.

In the computer sector, Hewlett-Packard was up 2.2 percent to $32.85 on an upgrade from “under weight” to “equal weight” by Morgan Stanley.

At midday on Friday the New York equities markets were seeing gains for both the day and week on help from several sectors as well as from some positive economic news. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1 percent on the day and 1.6 percent on the week to 11,551.96, a six-year high. The Nasdaq Composite was at 2,333.58, a gain of 0.4 percent on the day and 0.5 percent for the week and the S&P 500 had added 0.4 percent for the day and 0.6 percent over the week to sit at 1,318.03 at mid-session.

In the steel sector, US Steel added 10.4 percent to $75.60 over the week, while Nucor was up 8.2 percent during the week to $117.74 on an upgrade from Merrill Lynch.

Among miners, Phelps Dodge was up 8.1 percent this week $93.14 on record copper prices and an upgrade from Bear Stearns. The copper miner has added over 40 percent since March. On the negative side, Coeur dAlene, owner of mines in Boliva, dropped 9.7 percent during the week to $6.30.

Stock exchanges were mixed this week as speculation was that the New York Stock Exchange would best Nasdaq for control of the London Stock Exchange. The NYSE added 7 percent on Friday and was up 1.6 percent during the week to $67.48, while Nasdaq lost 1.5 percent this week to $36.87.

The transportation sector had a good week, with Expeditors International up 19.1 percent on the week to $104.70. Rail-freight shippers had a good week on higher imports from China and the ability to charge more for their services. CSX was up 8 percent this week to $74.06, while Burlington Northern Santa Fe added 5.6 percent to $83.95.