The New York equities markets were lower in early afternoon trade after the US Labor Department released new data showing that 92,000 jobs were created in July, lower than the 135,000 new jobs that had been expected and less than the 132,000 new jobs created in June.

Unemployment was up to 4.6 percent in July after a reading of 4.5 percent in June.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.6 percent lower to 13,380.99, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.8 percent to 2,555.59 and the S&P 500 had dropped 0.9 percent to 1,458.85.

American Home Mortgage (NYSE: AHM) was 67 cents lower to 78 cents, down from around $10 a week ago, after it announced Thursday that it had stopped taking applications for mortgages and was laying off most of its 7,000 employees, effective today.

Countrywide Financial (NYSE: CFC) dropped $1.38 to $25.39.

Elsewhere in the financial sector, Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) fell $3.28 to $112.35 after Standard & Poor’s cut its credit rating to negative on fears that earnings will fall.

In the automobile manufacturing sector General Motors (NYSE: GM) dropped 79 cents to $32.60, but US-traded shares of Toyota (NYSE: TM; LSE: TYT; TYO 7203.T) were up 94 cents to $119.53.

Among consumer goods manufacturers, Proctor & Gamble fell 31 cents to $62.98 after it dropped its full-year profit prediction slightly.

Wall Street suffered big losses in early afternoon trade on Thursday.

At just past 1:30 p.m. in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 290 points, or 2.11 percent, to 13,494.46, while the Nasdaq Composite had lost 2.32 percent to 2,586.65 and the S&P 500 was 2.35 percent lower to 1,482.47.

The declines were largely fallout from more bad news on the housing market and on higher oil prices.

The Commerce Department released new data showing that new home sales were down 6.6 percent in June to an annualized rate of 834,000 units.

Homebuilders declined on the new figures.

DR Horton (NYSE: DHI) was 3.03 percent lower to $16.95, while Beazer Homes (NYSE: BZH) was down 11.21 percent to $15.13 and WCI Communities Inc (NYSE: WCI) had fallen 20.67 per cent to $8.98 by early afternoon.

Banks were also lower, feeling the effect of the ongoing concerns over the subprime mortgage sector.

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC; TYO: 8648) was down 80 cents to $47.13, while JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM; TYO: 8634) dropped $1.51 to $43.76, Citigroup (NYSE: C) was $1.95 lower to $47.26 and Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER; TYO: 8675) fell $3.57 to $74.53.

At the same time of day there were a few gainers.

Ford Motor (NYSE: F) had added 25 cents to $8.22 on a report that it had returned to profit in the second quarter, while consumer goods group Procter & Gamble (NSYE: PG) was 52 cents higher to $63.50.

On the Nasdaq, Amazon.com (NAS: AMZN) was 16 cents higher to $86.34, while Apple (NAS: AAPL) had gained $8.09 to $145.35.

Because of the big losses on the day, the New York Stock Exchange imposed trading curbs aimed at stopping large-block sales when shares are falling.

Wall Street was higher at mid-afternoon on Tuesday as the reports period accelerated and produced mixed results. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.2 percent higher to 12,518.74, while the Nasdaq Composite had also added 0.2 percent to 2,446. The S&P 500 was up 0.45 percent to 1,426.95.

US Steel, 3M, Proctor & Gamble, and Colgate-Palmolive all reported quarterly results that were higher than had been anticipated. US Steel added 3 percent to $79.17 on its results, while Colgate-Palmolive gained 0.7 percent to $67.15. On the other hand, 3M dropped 4.6 percent to $75.33 when it warned that a slowing global economy could mean reduced results in 2007.

UPS said that its results met expectations with earnings of $1.04 per share, but it dropped 3 percent to $71.40 when it warned that growth could slow down this year.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, Merck reported profits down 58 percent in the fourth quarter, missing expectations and falling 1.6 percent to $44.79 on the session so far.

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange was 0.7 percent lower to $572.05 after it said that it missed estimates due to trading margins that were lower and even though it reported quarterly profits that were up 33 percent.

Wall Street was flat to slightly lower at mid-session on Tuesday on new data showing that US consumer confidence dropped to 105.4 in October, down from a revised reading of 105.9 in September. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.3 percent lower to 12,048.71, while the Nasdaq Composite was virtually flat after losing only 0.06 points to 2,363.71 and the S&P 500 fell 0.28 percent to 1,374.1.

In the tobacco sector, Altria fell 0.3 percent to $81.43 on the day that its Philip Morris division argues in front of the US Supreme Court in appeal to an $80 million verdict against it in an Oregon case.

Marathon Oil dropped 2.1 percent to $83.49 on profit taking even though it reported that profits were significantly higher in the quarter.

A UBS downgrade to “neutral” sent Verizon 2.6 percent lower to $36.66.

Proctor and Gamble dropped 0.9 percent to $63.21 even though profits were better than expected on improved margins and better sales in its Gillette unit.

Among gainers on the day was DaimlerChrysler, which added 4.1 percent to $57.33 on reports that it could sell its Chrysler division.

Celgene added 6.1 percent to $52.88 after an announcement Monday evening from Standard & Poor’s that the biotechnology company will replace AmSouth Bancorp on the S&P 500 after trade closes at the end of the week.

Wall Street managed a rally late in the day on Wednesday that took the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 higher but left the Nasdaq Composite essentially unchanged on the day. The Dow gained 0.2 percent to 11,005.74 and the S&P was also up 0.2 percent, to 1,278.47. The Nasdaq closed at 2,267.46.

The New York Stock Exchange went public for the first time in its 213-year history and saw its shares rise 24.5 percent during the day to $80. Rival exchanges, however, were down on the day, with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange down 0.6 percent to $419.74 and the Chicago Board of Trade losing 2.9 percent to $118.04.

Auction house Sothebys was up 12.2 percent to $23.40, a five-year high close, on a report of higher earnings due to an active art market.

Google dropped 2.90 percent to $353.88 on a lowered share price target, down to $490 from $500, from Goldman Sachs which nevertheless reiterated its “buy” recommendation for the internet search engine. The lowered target came after Google told investors that they should ignore an internal financial forecast that was posted on the company’s website by mistake.

In other sectors, Altria, which makes Marlboro cigarettes, was up 1.2 percent to $72.65, while Proctor & Gamble was up 1.3 percent to $61.07.

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.