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.

The New York equities markets were mixed at midday on Thursday on news from corporate earnings reports and new data from the Philadelphia Fed that showed its manufacturing index down 0.7 percent in October when an advance had been predicted. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.15 percent higher to 12,011, while the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.1 percent to 2,339.57 and the S&P 500 was just 0.01 percent lower to 1,365.

Among gainers on the day were Apple Computer, which added 6.35 percent to $79.26 on higher net income on sales of both Macintosh computers and iPod music players. Also up were Yahoo, 1.1 percent higher to $23.24 and UPS, which added 4.23 percent to $75.54 on higher earnings. AT&T was up 2.9 percent to $33.89 on an upgrade from Lehman Brothers.

The semiconductors sector was significantly lower. Cypress Semiconductor was 9.1 percent lower to $17.24 on the announcement that is no longer thinking of selling. Advanced Micro Devices dropped 10.4 percent to $21.72 after it said Wednesday that its gross margins were down. AMD added, however, that it expects higher demand and sales in the fourth quarter. Intel declined a lesser 1.1 percent to $20.88 on quarterly earnings that were lower.

Other losers on the session included McDonalds, down 1.4 percent to $40.90 despite meeting its revised guidance. Citigroup dropped 0.8 percent to $49.79 on lower net income in its third quarter. In addition, General Electric was down 0.9 percent to $35.56 on the news that its NBC Universal entertainment unit will make cost-cutting moves.

A falling transportation sector led the New York equities markets lower by midday on Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3 percent to 11,018.64, while the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 each had dropped by 0.2 percent, to 2,058.46 and 1,258.22 respectively.

United Parcel Service fell 14.5 percent to $68.44, its worst ever one-day performance. The decline came after its quarterly report did not meet expectations and it said that full-year earnings would only reach the low end of what has been forecast. The problems of Ups dragged the rest of the sector down as well. Federal Express dropped 2.7 percent to $107.50, while Burlington Northern Santa Fe declined by 4.5 percent to $66.67 and Expeditors International was 4.8 percent lower to $46.

The telecommunications sector, on the other hand, was up after AT&T said that its second quarter earnings were up by 81 percent. AT&T gained 4.4 percent to $28.99, while BellSouth added 4.8 percent to $37.95. BellSouth is scheduled to be purchased by AT&T later in the year.

In the technology sector, Sandisk added 14.8 percent to $37.95 after it reported that strong sales of memory cards for mobile phones sent profits up 36 percent in the quarter. Meanwhile, Texas Instruments reported that its earnings were up by 27 percent in the quarter, sending its shares 4.3 percent higher to $29.03.

BJ Services added 5.5 percent to $32.76 on third-quarter profits that were up by 86 percent.