Wall Street was lower in early afternoon trade on Thursday after Bank of America (NYSE: BAC; TYO: 8648) reported that profits were down by 32 percent in the third quarter.

While other banks have also produced disappointing third-quarter reports, Bank of America is seen as a predictor of the health of the US banking industry because it does business in widespread regions of the country.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.22 percent lower to 13,861.81, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.35 percent to 2,782.82 and the S&P 500 was down 0.38 percent to 1,535.35.

Bank of America was $1.69 lower to $48.33 after its report.

Elsewhere in the sector, Citigroup (NYSE: C) fell 66 cents to $44. JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM; TYO: 8634), which issued a better than anticipated report on Wednesday, was still down 66 cents to $45.71.

Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) dropped 80 cents to $33.49, while Wachovia (NYSE: WB) was 81 cents lower to $47.72.

Savings and loan Washington Mutual (NYSE: WM) was $2.83 lower to $30.24 after it issued a quarterly report showing profits down by 72 percent.

Sagging profits were not just a problem in the banking sector, however.

Candy maker Hershey Co. (NYSE: HSY) dropped $1.51 to $42.78 after it reported that profits were down 66 percent in the quarter on poor sales and higher promotional costs.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, meanwhile, Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) added 8 cents to $24.63 even though it reported that profits were down in its third quarter on lower sales and a charge to end investment in an inhaled form of insulin.

Wall Street was lower in early afternoon trade on Monday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was back down below the 13,000 level to trade at 12,993.32, a decline of 0.66 percent, just before 1:30 pm in New York, while the Nasdaq Composite had dropped 0.64 percent to 2,489.1 and the S&P 500 was 0.99 percent lower to 1,431.6.

The retail sector was mixed.

Rite-Aid (NYSE: RAD) was even at $4.88, while Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) had dropped 25 cents to $43.24.

Home improvement retailers, however, saw gains after Lowe’s (NYSE: LOW) reported that its earnings were at 67 cents per share in the second quarter, against expected earnings of 61 cents per share.

Despite dropping its forecasts for the third quarter and the full year, Lowe’s added $1.51 to $28.38, while rival Home Depot (NYSE: HD) gained 19 cents to $33.50.

The financial services sector saw declines.

Troubled mortgage lender Countrywide Financial (NYSE: CFC) was down $1.43 to $20.

Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) dropped 61 cents to $36.63, while Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) fell 84 cents to $61.39, Citigroup (NYSE: C) was 86 cents lower to $47.95 and Bank of America was down 96 cents to $50.80.

JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM; TYO: 8634) fell $1.44 to $45.57, Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) was down $1.78 to $56.30, Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER; TYO: 8675) dropped $2.01 to $74.03, and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) was $3.87 lower to $171.13.

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.

Wall Street was higher in early afternoon trade Monday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average had added 0.63 percent to 13,264.5, while the Nasdaq Composite was 0.29 percent higher to 2,518.56 and the S&P 400 was up 0.69 percent to 1,442.9.

The Russell 2000 index had gained 0.06 percent to 755.84.

Trade in shares of American Home Mortgage (NYSE: AHM) were halted after it had lost most of its market capitalization in the past few sessions, laid off nearly all its employees last Friday and today filed for bankruptcy protection in Delaware.

Elsewhere in the sector, however, Countrywide Financial (NYSE: CFC) added 47 cents to $25.48.

Investment banker Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) dropped $3.32 to $105.03 in the wake of last week’s reduced ratings outlook from Standard & Poor’s and after it fired an executive over the weekend.

On the other hand, other members of the financial services sector were higher.

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) was 35 cents higher to $47.35, while JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) added 65 cents to $44.30, Citigroup (NYSE: C) gained 82 cents to $46.54, Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) was up $1.42 to $34.23 and Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER) added $2.02 to $72.07.

There were also gains in the pharmaceuticals sector, where Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) was 7 cents higher to $28.07, Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) gained 39 cents to $23.90 and Merck (NYSE: MRK) was 80 cents higher to $51.09.

Merck’s gains came on a broker upgrade.

In the retail sector, Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) added $1.03 to $46.55 after it said that it is putting together a joint business-to-business venture in India.

Wall Street was higher in early afternoon trade on Monday as it tried to overcome last week’s declines.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 57.7 points to 13,324.6, while the Nasdaq Composite had added 9.8 points to 2,572 and the S&P 500 was 6.2 points higher to 1,465.

Home Depot (NYSE: HD) was the biggest gainer on the Dow, adding 79 cents to $37.54.

Rival home improvement retailer Lowe’s (NYSE; LOW) was up 38 cents to $28.15.

Elsewhere in the retail sector, drug store chain Rite Aid (NYSE: RAD) had gained 2 cents to $5.40, while discount retailer Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) was up 20 cents to $46.14.

Aerospace group Boeing (NYSE: BA) also helped the Dow as it added $2.12 to $105.83.

Some banks were higher.

JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) gained 6 cents to $44.29, while Citigroup (NYSE: C) was up 18 cents to $47.15, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) had added 41 cents to $47.82, and Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) gained 69 cents to $34.25.

On the other hand, mortgage lender Countrywide Financial (NYSE: CFC) was 96 cents lower to $28.89.

American Home Mortgage Investment Corp (NYSE: AHM) had trading halted before the market opened after it fell $6.39, or 39 percent, to $10.47 in premarket trading after it delayed its quarterly dividend.

Friday it said it was “struggling” due to the crisis in the subprime sector.

The New York equities markets saw declines on Thursday after two leading mortgage lenders said that more people were defaulting on home loans. At noon, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had dropped 0.4 percent to 12,612.47. The Nasdaq Composite was also 0.4 percent lower, to 2,481.90, while the S&P 500 fell 0.3 percent to 1,445.26.

The retail sector was mixed. Gap added 2.9 percent to $19.81 after it said that its sales are up. On the other hand, Costco dropped 0.3 percent to $56.34 after steeper declines earlier after underlying sales were reported to be up only 2 percent in January, below expected levels.

In the media sector, Walt Disney dropped 1 percent to $35.10 on profit-taking after Wednesday’s report that its net income more than doubled in the quarter. Meanwhile, Warner Music fell 4.7 percent to $20.50 after it reported that its fiscal first quarter profits were down 74 percent.

Declines in the financial sector followed reports from HSBC and New Century Financial, two large subprime mortgage lenders, that defaults are on the rise. New Century fell to $21.64. Other subprime lenders that saw declines were American Home Mortgage Investments, which dropped 6.9 percent to $33.50 and Accredited Home Lenders, down 7.6 percent to $26.81. Elsewhere in the banking sector, JP Morgan and Wells Fargo each were 1 percent lower, to $50.71 and $35.55 respectively, while Lehman Brothers dropped 1.7 percent to $84.14.

Wall Street was mixed at noon on Tuesday as the earnings season prepares to get into full swing, with companies such as Apple, IBM, Citigroup, Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan and General Electric all scheduled to release their fourth-quarter reports this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.04 percent to 12,560.88, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.1 percent to 2,500.97. The S&P 500, meanwhile, was 0.02 percent higher to 1,431.01.

Homebuilders were lower. KB Home dropped 1.2 percent to $48.76, while Centex fell 2.8 percent to $51.68. The S&P homebuilders index dropped 2 percent.

Technology stocks were responsible for the decline in the Nasdaq. Cisco was 2.9 percent lower to $28.08 on broker downgrades, while Symantec fell 8.8 percent to $18.67 after it said that profits in 2007 will not rise to expected levels. The semiconductor sector also fell on negative news from brokers. Novellus Systems was down 2.2 percent to $32.03 and KLA-Tencor dropped 2.6 percent to $50.83. Intel, which was scheduled to issue its report after the close of trade Tuesday, was 0.5 percent lower to $22.02.

The banking sector saw gains, with Wells Fargo 2.3 percent higher to $36.33 on earnings of 64 cents per share in the fourth quarter.

In the transport sector, FedEx gained 2.7 percent to $111.77 as the Dow Transports Average gained 1.3 percent on the session so far and 5.7 percent since the beginning of the year.

The New York equities markets saw advances on Tuesday, fueled by inflation that appears to be under control, by optimism based on first quarter earnings reports, and by falling crude oil prices.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day up 0.5 percent to 11,203.85, while the Nadsaq Composite gained 0.4 percent to 2,345.36 and the S&P 500 added 0.6 percent to 1,305.93.

Banks were up on the day. Bank of America advanced by 1.4 percent to $46.29. Wells Fargo gained 0.8 percent to $64.87. JPMorgan added 1.6 percent to $42.27.

The Dow was helped out by 3M, which makes Scotch tape and post-it notes. 3M was up over 1.5 percent to $77, gaining after it said it might sell its pharmaceuticals business. Machinery manufacturer Caterpillar also helped the Dow, gaining 2.5 percent to $75.30 after it was reported that it could receive orders worth up to $5 billion from Canadian oil and mining companies.

Internet company Google added 3.8 percent to $404.34, going above the $400 level for the first time since February.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, Merck was up 0.2 percent to $35.48 when it revised its quarterly guidance up.

The telecommunications sector saw declines, however, after equipment makers were downgraded as a sector from “positive” to “neutral”. JDS Uniphase, lost 4.2 percent to $3.91, while Ciena dropped 5.9 percent to $4.91.

In midday trade in New York on Thursday, the equities markets were lower as retailers were mixed and banks were down.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average had dropped 0.4 percent to 11,013.50 by mid-session, and the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 had lost 0.3 percent each, to 2,307.93 and 1,287.43 respectively.

Higher bond yields and continuing worries over interest rates sent the banking sector lower. Citigroup and Bank of America each lost 0.9 percent, with Citigroup trading at $46.12 and Bank of America at $45.12. Wells Fargo dropped 1.4 percent to $63.80.

In the retail sector, clothing retailers were generally lower, while department stores and discounters had a better day. On a report of same-store growth, Costco Wholesale was up 0.8 percent to $52.60, while Kohl’s gained 1.1 percent to $49.30 after reporting a rise of 3.4 percent in sales. But the Gap dropped 2.7 percent to $18.15 after it revealed that sales were down 11 percent in February. Meanwhile, Abercrombie & Fitch was down 10.3 percent to $60.35 on a report that same-store sales were up by only 5 percent on February, much less than the 14 percent that had been forecast.

The energy sector was up on higher crude oil prices, with energy providers in the lead. Halliburton added 3.5 percent to $71.81, while Schlumberger gained 2.2 percent to $120.70.