By midday on Wednesday the New York equities markets were higher as the utilities sector was higher on mergers and acquisitions news and lower oil prices helped investor sentiment. The middle of the session saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.7 percent to 11,174.07, while the Nasdaq Composite had added 0.8 percent to 2,182.51 and the S&P 500 had gained 0.7 percent to 1,268.39.

If trends continue to the end of the day, the Dow seemed likely to lose 1.7 percent on the month, the Nasdaq was on track to lose 6 percent during the month, and the S&P was likely to be down by 3.2 percent for the month. For both the Nasdaq and the S&P, those figures would make May the worst month for the indexes in several years.

Semiconductors had the biggest losses during the month, with the sector down 9.4 percent as a whole. Intel was the leader of the losers, down 27.5 percent in the month to $18.06. Meanwhile, the automobile manufacturing sector was the most successful during the month. Even though it was down by 4.5 percent at one point, it ended the month 5 percent higher. General Motors was up 18.3 percent during the month.

The utilities sector saw significant advances. NRG Energy was up 16.1 percent to $49.95 on the news that Mirant had bid for the power-plant operator. The announcement helped other utilities, as Texas Utilities gained 2.8 percent to $57.73 and Edison International was up 2.7 percent to $39.40.

The New York equities markets were up at midday on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.5 percent to 11,400.12, the Nasdaq Composite fractionally higher at 2,311.13, and the S&P 500 0.4 percent higher to 1,310.04. New corporate earnings reports helped the markets recover from losses late in the day Monday after a report that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke felt that the media had misinterpreted the testimony he gave before Congress last week.

Utilities helped the S&P, taking its Utilities Index 1.1 percent higher. Texas Utilities was up 8.2 percent to $53.99 on a reported 37 percent gain in net income in the first quarter. New Jersey’s Public Service Enterprise gained 1.4 percent to $62.81.

Alternative fuels were also up on the day. Archer Daniels Midland, which makes ethanol among other activities, was up 9.1 percent to $41.47 in very heavy trading after it reported better than expected earnings in its third quarter. ADM shares have gained 13.5 percent so far this week and 65 percent since January. Another ethanol producer, Pacific Ethanol, added 6.7 percent by mid-session, to $36.27.

Homebuilders, however, were down as new figures showed pending home sales at a two-year low. Toll Brothers declined by 2.7 percent to $30.33, while Hovnavian dropped 7 percent to $36.08 on a drop in earnings.

The New York equities markets were up in midday trade on Monday after losses on Thursday and Friday of last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average had risen by 0.5 percent to 11,118.60 by the middle of the session, while the Nasdaq composite was up 1 percent to 2,308.84 and the S&P 500 was up 0.5 percent to 1,295.45.

The retail sector helped buoy the S&P, with home improvement retailers Lowe’s and Home Depot both up even though data showed new home sales down sharply. Lowe’s gained 4.5 percent to $68.45 on its report of a 37 percent increase in profits in the fourth quarter, while Home Depot gained 1.2 percent to $42.11.

Technology stocks aided the Nasdaq in its gains. Intel gained 1.7 percent to $20.68 on an upgrade to “outperform” from “market perform” on the expected success of several pending product introductions. Intel’s rival, Advanced Micro Device, was up 0.9 percent to $40.89.

Walt Disney and Apple both saw gains as rumors spread that Apple might bid for Disney after Apple founder Steve Jobs succeeds in becoming Disney’s top shareholder. Disney was up 1.3 percent to $28.33 and Apple added 0.6 percent to $71.86.

In the utilities sector, Texas Utilities was up 3.7 percent to $51.59 on word that General Electric might buy into the company. GE, which also announced that it will sell its stake in Genworth Financial, was up 0.3 percent to $33.25.