Wall Street was up in early afternoon trade on Monday after declines earlier in the day.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.17 percent to 13,545.43, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.81 percent to 2,747.17 and the the S&P 500 was 0.23 percent higher to 1,504.04.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, Merck (NYSE: MRK) added $1.21 to $54.32 after it reported that profits were up by 62 percent in the third quarter, boosted by ales of asthma and allergy drugs, blood pressure medicines, cholesterol drugs and a number of vaccines, including one for the prevention of cervical cancer.

The only bad news was that the drug maker still faces liability over its Vioxx anti-inflammatory drug which was taken off the market after being implicated in cardiovascular events in patients who took it.

Elsewhere in the sector, Schering-Plough (NYSE: SGP) dropped $4.29 to $28.42 after turning in a quarterly report that was not up to investors’ expectations.

Meanwhile Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) was 3 cents lower to $24.04.

Home builders were doing well in early afternoon trade, with several builders recording gains in the near-7 percent to nearly 8.5 percent range.

Beazer Homes (NYSE: BZH) was up 76 cents to $9.82, while DR Horton (NYSE: DHI) was 88 cents higher to $12.83 and Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE: HOV) had gained 89 cents to $11.44.

Pulte Homes (NYSE: PHM) added 94 cents to $14.62 and Lennar (NYSE: LEN) was up $1.39 to $21.08, while Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) jumped $1.56 to $22.08.

Wall Street dropped at midday on Tuesday as crude oil prices continued to rise and on comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke Monday night that the housing market is a “significant drag” on the economy.

In addition, investors expected more bad news concerning the housing sector when the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo issues its October housing market index later in the day.

At mid-session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.5 percent lower to 13,914.65, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.23 percent to 2,773.78 and the S&P 500 fell 0.52 percent to 1,540.7.

The housing sector was down on Mr. Bernanke’s comments and on separate comments from Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who said in a speech Geogretown University’s law school that the housing slump is the most serious risk currently facing the economy.

DR Horton (NYSE: DHI) dropped 30 cents to $13.80 after it said that orders were down 39 percent in its fiscal fourth quarter, while cancellations were at 48 percent.

Elsewhere in the sector Pulte Homes (NYSE: PHM) fell 32 cents to $14.11 while Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) was 36 cents lower to $21.79, Beazer Homes (NYSE: BZH) was down 41 cents to $8.75, Centex (NYSE: CTX) dropped 69 cents to $25.80 and KB Home (NYSE: KBH) fell 79 percent to $26.91.

The Dow was hurt by losses for General Motors (NYSE: GM), which was down $1.15 to $39.96 after a broker downgrade from “peer perform” to “under perform” from Bear Stearns.

JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM; TYO: 8634) dropped 85 cents to $45.42 ahead of its third-quarter results, due Wednesday, while Citigroup (NYSE: C) was $1.11 lower to $45.14 after it reported Monday that its earnings were down 57 percent in the third quarter due to losses in mortgage-backed securities and higher operating expenses.

New York equities markets were down at midday on Friday after a report from the US Commerce Department that August retail sales were down 0.4 percent when expectations for a gain of 0.1 percent had been anticipated.

The figures excluded auto sales.

Other, separate reports, showed industrial production up only 0.2 percent in August and September consumer confidence down according to the RBC Cash Index and only slightly higher in the Reuters/University of Michigan survey.

US markets were also disturbed by Northern Rock’s (LSE: NRK) troubles in the UK.

However, declines were limited by hopes that the Federal Reserve will cut US interest rates when it meets next Tuesday.

In midday trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had dropped 0.08 percent to 13,413.99, while the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.14 percent to 2,597.47 and the S&P 500 had fallen 0.15 percent to 1,481.79.

Despite the general declines, house builders were higher in light trading ahead of the Fed’s decision next week.

KB Home (NYSE: KBH) was 38 cents higher to $27.07, while D. R. Horton (NYSE: DHI) had added 39 cents to $14.15.

Lennar (NYSE: LEN) gained 43 cents to $25.50, Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE: HOV) was up 51 cents to $10.54, Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) added 54 cents to $20.56, and Centex (NYSE: CTX) climbed 67 cents to $26.81.

Some airlines were also higher, despite oil prices that remained high even though there had been some decline from Thursday’s gains.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK) was $1.66 higher to $24.68 after it announced a stock buyback worth as much as $100 million, while Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) gained 24 cents to $32.70.

Most other US airlines also saw gains, but Northwest Airlines (NYSE: NWA) fell 2 cents to $17.50.

Wall Street was lower in early afternoon trade after Janet Yellen, president of the San Francisco Fed said in a speech that interest rate policies should not be used to bail out investors even though market upheavals could hurt the economy, causing investors to worry that interest rates might not drop this month, as many had assumed.

Analysts said that if the Fed does not reduce rates the markets could see a major sell-off.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.38 percent lower to 13,064.04, while the Nasdaq Composite had dropped 0.63 percent to 2,549.43 and the S&P 500 was down 0.63 percent as well, to 1,444.37.

House builders saw major declines after Moody’s Investors Services said that the housing slump will likely last at least until 2009.

Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE: HOV) was down 5.3 percent to $10.01 after its target share price was cut from $20 to $8 by JMP Securities in the wake of last week’s reported third-quarter losses.

Other declines in the sector included KB Home (NYSE: KBH), which was 4.7 percent lower to $26.62.

Pulte Homes (NYSE: PHM) dropped 3.1 percent to $15.02, Lennar (NYSE: LEN) fell 2.9 percent to $25.74, and Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) was down 2.4 percent to $19.85.

Mortgage lender Countrywide Financial (NYSE: CFC) was 5.4 percent lower to $17.22 after Friday’s report that it will cut up to 12,000 jobs in an effort to rise above the sector’s problems and after it said it believes new mortgages will fall by 25 percent next year.

Gainers on the day included Apple (NAS: AAPL; LSE: ACP; FWB: APC), which added 2.7 percent to $135.20 on the news that it sold its 1 millionth iPhone Sunday.

Wall Street was lower at midday on Tuesday as investors waited for the release of the minutes from the most recent meeting of the US Federal Reserve.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.09 percent to 13,176.87, while the Nasdaq Composite had dropped 1.27 percent to 2,528.67 and the S&P 500 had dropped 1.17 percent to 1,449. 69.

Analysts and investors were interested in what the Fed minutes had to say in order to see if they provide any hints about where interest rates might go in the future, especially in light of recent comments from officials that they are willing to do whatever is necessary to retain stability in the markets.

A new report from the Conference Board, showing consumer confidence down from a revised reading of 111.9 percent in July to 105 in August did not help, although the reading was a bit better than the 104.5 that had been expected.

House builders were lower on the report that house prices were down by 3.2 percent in the second quarter, the biggest rate of decline since the S&P housing index was begun in 1987.

D. R. Horton (NYSE: DHI) dropped 45 cents to $14.76, while Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE: HOV) was down 60 cents to $10.66 and Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) fell 73 cents to $21.27.

Banks were lower after Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER; TYO: 8675) issued a downgrade, from “buy” to “neutral”, to three financial institutions.

Citigroup (NYSE: C) dropped 94 cents to $46.85, while Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) fell $1.49 to $110.71 and Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) was down $2.50 to $55.25.

By early afternoon Monday the New York equities markets were up even though many banks were lower again.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.59 percent higher to 13,167.93, while the Nasdaq Composite had added 0.67 percent to 2,538.25 and the S&P 500 had gained 0.49 percent to 1,454.17.

Banks were lower after Citigroup (NYSE: C), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM; TYO: 8634) and Wachovia (NYSE: WB) each said they had borrowed $500 million from the Federal Reserve.

Bank of America was 24 cents lower to $51.06, while Wachovia fell 31 cents to $48.93, Citigroup dropped 53 cents to $47.53 and JP Morgan Chase was down $1.06 to $45.14.

Elsewhere in the sector, Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) was 41 cents lower to $175.07, Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER; TYO: 8675) fell 99 cents to $75.12 and Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) had dropped $1.23 to $56.31.

Futures exchange operator Nymex Holdings (NYSE: NMX) added $7.10 to $125.88 on reports that it has had early discussions toward some sort of deal, while MGM Mirage (NYSE: MGM) gained $6.23 to $80.55 on speculation that it is a bids target from Dubai World.

In the house building sector, Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) added 80 cents to $21.89 even though it said its profits in the fiscal third quarter were down on more cancellations than expected and on large writedowns but still came out better than analysts had anticipated.

The gains didn’t help the rest of the sector much, however.

At just past 1 p.m. New York time, Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE: HOV) was up just 1 cent to $11.96, while Pulte Homes (NYSE: PHM) had dropped 3 cents to $17.26 and DR Horton (NYSE: DHI) was down 29 cents to $16.05.

Wall Street remained volatile on Thursday.

At just past 2 pm New York time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.02 percent to 12,730.51, but earlier in the afternoon it had been down as much as 308 points, or 2.4 percent.

Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite was down 1.2 percent to 2,429.39 and the S&P 500 had dropped 0.68 percent to 1,397.17.

Earlier, the Nasdaq had been down as much as 2.31 percent and the S&P had been down as much as 2.7 percent.

The Federal Reserve had earlier put another $17 billion into the banking system in an effort to raise investor confidence didn’t seem to have much immediate effect.

Investor fears seemed to be confirmed when Countrywide Financial (NYSE: CFC) was forced to draw down all of an $11.5 billion credit line in order to fund its operations after it could not borrow in traditional credit markets and after Moody’s Investor Service warned that the mortgage lender’s debt ratings could be cut to junk status.

Moody’s said it had cut Countrywide’s senior debt rating from A3 to Baa3, the lowest investment-grade rating.

Countrywide was down 23.63 percent to $16.26 in early afternoon trade.

The Commerce Department said that new home construction dropped to its lowest level in over ten years in July.

The announcement left home builders mixed.

At early afternoon, DR Horton (NYSE: DHI) was still 0.06 percent higher to $15.70, while Lennar (NYSE: LEN) had added 0.07 percent to $30.04 and Standard Pacific (NYSE: SPF) gained 1.57 percent to $9.08.

However, Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) was down 1.38 percent to $21.48, while Pulte Homes (NYSE: PHM) fell 1.89 percent to $16.58, Centex (NYSE: CTX) had dropped 4.13 percent to $30.90, and Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE: HOV) was 12.81 percent lower to $11.16.

In other economic news, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia announced that its general economic index was at zero in August, down from 9.2 in July, which meant that while the region’s economy is not contracting it is not expanding either.

The New York equities markets were higher in early afternoon trade on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.84 percent to 13,617.78.

The Nasdaq Composite was 1.92 percent higher to 2,610.69, while the S&P 500 had added 1.15 percent to 1,493.72.

The gains came on comments from the Federal Reserve on Tuesday that it expects the US economy to continue to grow moderately and after Cisco Systems (NAS: CSCO; SEHK: 4333) said its profits were up by 25 percent in the most recent quarter and upped its revenue prediction for the full year.

Cisco gained $1.78 to $31.47 after it made its report.

Meanwhile, house builder Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) said that revenues are down 21 percent in its preliminary third-quarter report and refused to provide an earnings guidance in what it called a volatile market.

Still, Toll Brothers added $1.06 to $24.01 because the declines weren’t as steep as analysts had expected them to be.

That, and a statement from KB Home (NYSE: KBH) that it had used cash on hand to repay $650 million in debt sent the sector higher.

KB added $3.36 to $36.42, while DR Horton (NYSE: DHI) was up $1 to $18.39, Pulte Homes (NYSE: PHM) was $2.46 higher to $22.84, and Centex (NYSE: CTX) gained $2.73 to $38.40.

Financial services also saw gains.

Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) added 70 cents to $34.97, Citigroup (NYSE: C) gained 88 cents to $49.47, and Bank of America was 94 cents higher to $49.61.

Meanwhile, Lehman Brothers was up $4.44 to $65.15, while Goldman Sachs added $5.55 to $196.80 and Bear Stearns was $7.35 higher to $124.24.

At midday on Wednesday the New York equities markets seemed to have risen above Tuesday’s declines, helped along by comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that Tuesday’s conditions in global equities markets had done nothing to change his assessment that the US economy could look forward to moderate growth this year. By mid-session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had added 0.3 percent to 12,257.74, while the Nasdaq Composite was 0.2 percent higher to 2,413.64 and the S&P 500 was up 0.3 percent to 1,405.75.

The telecommunications sector was higher after Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S) added 2.5 percent to $19.41 on its report that quarterly profits were up and that it expects to gain more subscribers. That news helped Verizon (NYSE: VZ), which gained 1.8 percent to $37.20.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, Merck (NYSE: MRK) added 2.1 percent to $44.10 after it improved this years earnings forecast.

Homebuilders were lower after new data that showed new home sales down at its steepest rate in 13 years. The S&P Homebuilders index dropped 1.5 percent, and Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) saw its shares fall 2.4 percent to $29.85. In a related sector, home improvement retailer Home Depot (NYSE: HD) said it would likely see slower sales due to the downturn in the housing market. That statement sent its shares 0.6 percent lower to $39.59.

The New York equities markets were lower at midday on Thurdsay. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.5 percent to 12,678.89, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.1 percent to 2,515.35 and the S&P 500 was 0.3 percent lower to 1,454.03.

Retailers declined on bad news. Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) dropped 2.1 percent to $80.29 after it said that the rising cost of paying its employees would likely diminish results for the first half of the year. Meanwhile, JC Penney (NYSE: JCP) fell 3.6 percent to $83.21 on a less than positive guidance.

Homebuilders were lower as well, after Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) said that profits were down sharply and that while it has seen an upturn in demand in some regions, it doesn’t expect the housing market to strengthen significantly through spring. The builder’s 67 percent decline in profits wasn’t as steep as some had expected, but the company’s stock still dropped 1.5 percent to $32.38. Elsewhere in the sector, DR Horton (NYSE: DRH) fell 2.1 percent to $27.50.

In the computer sector, Hewlett Packard (NYSE: HPQ) dropped 1.7 percent to $40.42.

In the supermarkets sector, Whole Foods (NASDAQ: WFMI) added 11.8 percent to $51.10 after it said last night that it will acquire Wild Oats Markets (NASDAQ: OATS) for $565 million. Wild Oats added 17.3 percent to $18.44 on the news.