The New York equities markets were mostly steady at midday. Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were even, at 12,211.43 and 1,394.66 respectively, while the Nasdaq Composite was 0.3 percent lower to 2,377.45. Shares in oil companies were higher as crude oil prices gained after new inventories reports showed that crude stockpiles fell by more than expected last week. Investor sentiment was hurt, however, by data showing that job growth in the private sector was not as robust as had been hoped.

In the oil sector, Chevron (NYSE: CVX) added 1.3 percent to $68.52, while ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) was 2.2 percent higher to $67.15. While crude oil inventories dropped significantly against expectations of an advance last week, most of the decline was due to bad weather on the US Gulf Coast and inventories are expected to rebound this week.

Computer related stocks were mixed. Internet search engine Google (NAS: GOOG; LSE: GGEA) was down 0.3 percent at midday to $456.18 even though UBS (NYSE: UBS; SWX: UBSN; TYO: 8657) issued an upgrade to “buy”, from “neutral” on the company’s shares. IBM (NYSE: IBM) was 0.3 percent higher to $94.12 but Cisco (NAS: CSCO; SEHK: 4333) dropped 1 percent to $25.69 on reports that the two companies were collaborating on software development projects.

In the retail sector, American Eagle Outfitters (NAS: AEOS) fell 3.8 percent to $28.69 after the clothing retailer did not meet earnings estimates. On the other hand, office supply retailer Office Depot (NYSE: ODP) added 2.1 percent to $34.35 on an upgrade from “hold” to “buy” from Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB).

At midday on Monday, Wall Street was running behind due to less than desirable corporate earnings reports as well as investor uncertainty about events in the Middle East. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were each 0.2 percent lower at mid-session, to 11,194.88 and 1,275.46 respectively, while the Nasdaq Composite had dropped 0.3 percent to 2,088.29.

Among the companies issuing disappointing quarterly reports were Avon and Tyson Foods. Cosmetics maker Avon was down 9.3 percent to $29.75 after it said its profits dropped by 54 percent in the second quarter. It blamed most of the decline on costs incurred during a restructuring. Meanwhile, Tyson Foods reported that it lost $52 million in the second quarter, more than had been expected. Tyson dropped 2.3 percent to $14.23.

On the other hand, health insurer Humana added 5.3 percent to $54.28 on a quarterly report that was better than had been expected.

Office Depot also had an earnings report, issued on Friday, that topped analyst estimates. By noon on Monday the office supplies retailer had added 5.4 percent to $36.20.

Coal producers were also having a good day after Merrill Lynch said that there would be more demand for coal as other energy sources cost increasingly more. Peabody Energy was 6.2 percent higher to $48.89, while Arch Coal added 7.2 percent to $37.18.

On reports that it might be purchased by Grupo Mexico, miner Phelps Dodge gained 7.2 percent to $87.40.

Computer makers were mixed on the day. Dell was 2.5 percent lower to $21.66. On the other hand, Apple Computer added 3.6 percent to $67.96 after it was upgraded from “neutral” to “buy” from Bank of America.

Earnings reports trumped fears of further interest rate hikes to send Wall Street higher at midday on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up to 11,352.59, a jump of nearly 70 points, while the Nasdaq Composite was up 2.17 points to 2,332.47 and the S&P 500 gained 4.96 points to 1,306.70. The interest rate concerns came after durable goods orders were up more than had been expected and new home sales increased.

Office Depot added 7 percent to $40.87, a record high, on first quarter sales that were up 3 percent, which put earnings per share at 48 cents, 4 cents per share higher than had been forecast.

Brewer Anheuser-Busch also beat earnings estimates in the quarter, by 8 cents per share to 64 cents per share. In consequence, the brewer gained 4.8 percent on the day to $44.66.

On the down side of the earnings reports, Sprint-Nextel said that it had earnings per share of 36 cents per share in the quarter, 2 cents less than had been expected. The telecommunications company was down 3.2 percent to $24.24.

Elsewhere in the sector, however, American Tower, which leases communications tower space to mobile phone companies, reported sales up 74 percent compared to the same period last year. The report sent its shares up by 5.1 percent to $34.87.

Amazon, the online retailer, dropped 0.4 percent to $35.69. While its sales were up 20 percent in the first quarter compared to the same period last year, investments and shipping costs sent profits down by 34 percent, which was about where analysts predicted it would be.