The New York markets ended mixed on Wednesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost over 20 points to end 0.15 percent lower at 13,892.54 after falling more than 130 points in earlier trade, but the Nasdaq Composite added 1.04 percent to 2,792.67 and the S&P 500 gained 0.18 percent to 1,541.24.

The Nasdaq was helped by gains for chipmaker Intel (NAS: INTC; SEHK: 4335), which was up $1.24 to $26.72 after it said its earnings were up by 43 percent in the third quarter.

Yahoo (NAS:YHOO) was also higher, adding $2.13 to $28.82 after its third quarter profits were down less than had been anticipated.

Declines came on losses by IBM (NYSE: IBM), which fell $3.82 to $115.78 even though it said earnings were up by 6 percent, more than expected, after software revenue only added 3 percent in the quarter.

Manufacturer United Technologies (NYSE: UTX) was also lower, dropping $2.85 to $76.80 even though its profits were up by 20 percent in the third quarter after it said it sees the US economy slowing.

In the banking sector, JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM; TYO: 8634) added $1.26 to $46.37 when it managed a 2 percent gain in profits in the third quarter even though it took losses related to home loans and corporate debt.

The New York markets were up in early afternoon trade on Tuesday.

At just past 1 p.m. local time the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.43 percent higher to 13,415.21, while the Nasdaq Composite ha added 1.2 percent to 2,627.62 and the S&P 500 was up 0.9 percent to 1,4878.2.

The automobile manufacturing sector was higher even though Ford Motor (NYSE: F) said that sales were 14.4 percent lower in August, worse than the 13.2 percent decline that analysts had anticipated.

Car sales were down 33.7 percent while truck sales were 2.4 percent lower overall.

Still, Ford was up 9 cents to $7.90, while General Motors added 40 cents to $31.14.

A little earlier, at midday, the semiconductors sector was up on an upgrade for Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) and on a report from the Semiconductor Industry Association that said global chip sales were up 2.2 percent in July.

AMD was 29 cents higher to $13.29 after Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS; NYSE: CSGN) raised its recommendation on the chipmaker from “underperform“ to “neutral“.

Intel (NAS: INTC; SEHK: 4335) had gained 55 cents to $26.30, while Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) added $1.14 to $35.38.

Apple (NAS: AAPL) added $4.96 to $143.44 on a report that its iPhone sold better than all other smart phones in the US in July.

In the internet sector, Yahoo (NAS: YHOO) was up $1.31 to $24.04 after Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) named it a top pick.

Wall Street was higher in midday trade on Wednesday after an up-and-down morning on nerves from Tuesday’s declines and news that existing home sales were down by 3.8 percent in June.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.38 percent higher at mid-session to 13,769.71 after gaining as much as 100 points at one point and losing up to 30 points at another in morning trade.

The Nasdaq Composite was 2,647.27, up 0.28 percent, while the S&P 500 had added 0.36 percent to 1,516.51.

There were notable gains, however.

Pharmaceutical group Merck (NYSE: MRK) added $1.61 to $53.33 after it said it would buy NovaCardia (NAS: NCAR), a clinical-stage pharmaceutical firm that specializes in cardiovascular disease.

In the aerospace sector, Boeing (NYSE: BA; TYO: 7661) gained $3.56 to $107.36 after it reported that it earned $1.35 per share in the second quarter, higher than the earnings of $1.16 per share that had been anticipated.

The internet sector was mixed after Amazon.com (NAS: AMZN) said that its earnings in the second quarter were 19 cents per share, up from 5 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

The report brought upgrades - from “neutral to “outperform” from Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS; SWX: CSGN) and from “accumulate” to “buy” from ThinkEquity, which also raised Amazon’s target share price from $80 to $105.

Amazon was up $17.75 to $87 in early afternoon trade.

Other gainers in the sector included Yahoo (NAS: YHOO), which gained 9 cents to $24.93 and eBay (NAS: EBAY), which was 56 cents higher to $33.62.

Google (NAS: GOOG; LSE: GGEA), however, dropped $3.99 to $510.01.

Wall Street was higher in early afternoon trade on Thursday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.51 percent higher to 13,988.95, while the Nasdaq Composite had added 0.81 percent to 2,721.3 and the S&P 500 was up 0.43 percent to 1,552.85.

Earnings news was in focus as IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Juniper Networks (NAS: JNPR) both reported.

IBM said that second quarter profits were up with help from its software division and services business.

It also raised its profit forecast for this year, sending shares up $4.74 to $115.82.

Network equipment manufacturer Juniper, meanwhile, also said profits rose in the second quarter and upped its earnings outlook for the full year, adding $3.24 to $29.97.

Elsewhere in the computer sector, Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) added $1.57 to $48.71.

Google (NAS: GOOG; LSE: GGEA), Microsoft (NAS: MSFT), and Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) were all scheduled to report after the close of trade on Thursday.

Google was $2.30 lower to $547.20, but Advanced Micro Devices was up 27 cents to $15.73 and Microsoft had added 57 cents to $31.49.

The internet sector was lower.

Ebay (NAS: EBAY) was down 53 cents to $33.52 after it did not change its full-year outlook. Meanwhile, Yahoo (NAS: YHOO) dropped 14 cents to $26.06.

Wall Street was lower in early afternoon trade on Wednesday after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke made worrying remarks in testimony before Congress and as brokerages took losses after a downgrade of the biggest names in the sector.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.72 percent lower to 13,871, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.02 percent and the S&P 500 fell 0.65 percent to 1,539.34.

An analyst at Punk Ziegel & Co downgraded the top five brokerages from “market perform” to “sell” after Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) said that two of its hedge funds holding subprime mortgage assets have lost almost everything.

Bear Stearns dropped $2.12 to $137.79, while Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) was 2.31 percent lower to $70.75, Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) fell $2.71 to $70.14, Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER: TYO: 8675) was down $3.30 to $82.90, and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) fell $6.55 to $212.85.

Meanwhile, Mr. Bernanke’s comments in his testimony before Congress were full of concern about inflation and the state of the housing market, culminating in a lower forecast for US economic growth this year and next.

Among housebuilders, Pulte Homes (NYSE: PHM) dropped 3.8 percent to $21.85 after it predicted losses in the second quarter.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) was 4.6 percent lower to $24.78 after both earnings and revenues were lower than had been anticipated.

In the internet sector, Yahoo (NAS: YHOO) was down $1.37 to $26.16 after its second quarter results were about as expected but it lowered its guidance for the third quarter.

Intel (NAS: INTC; SEHK: 4335) dropped $1.32 to $25.01 even though quarterly earnings were better than had been anticipated but gross margins were reported to have dropped.

Wall Street was up in midday trade on Tuesday after the Dow Jones Industrial Average crossed the 14,000 mark for the first time to a record high of 14,011.51 before dropping back to 13,989.51, still a gain of 0.3 percent at mid-session.

The Nasdaq Composite was 0.4 percent higher to 2,707.94, while the S&P 500 had added 0.2 percent to 1,551.86.

In the computer-related sectors, search engine Yahoo (NAS: YHOO) and semiconductors maker Intel (NAS: INTC; SEHK: 4335) were both higher ahead of their quarterly reports, scheduled to be released after the close of trade.

Yahoo was 4 cents higher to $26.74, while Intel had added 27 cents to $26.22.

Online auctioneer eBay (NAS: EBAY), expected to report on Wednesday, was 9 cents lower to $34.30.

In the media sector, News Corp (NYSE: NSWS, NWSa; LSE: NCRA; ASX: NWS) and Dow Jones (NYSE: DJ) reached a tentative agreement for News Corp to buy the publisher of the Wall Street Journal.

The deal still has to be approved by the Dow Jones board of directors and by the Bancroft family, which controls a majority of Dow Jones stock.

News Corp added 2.7 percent to $24.27 on the news, while Dow Jones fell 0.7 percent to $56.56.

Pharmaceuticals and consumer goods group Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) dropped 2 percent to $63.51 despite a second-quarter report that showed profits were up 9.3 percent and international sales had grown by 18 percent.

In New York, midday saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 all 0.2 percent higher. The Dow stood at 12,283.21, 1.4 percent higher for the week. The Nasdaq was at 2,391.51, while the S&P had added 1.3 percent on the week to 1,404.76.

Mortgage lender New Century Financial (NYSE: NEW) lost more than 18 percent to $3.05 after it said it was no longer accepting loan applications due to lack of support from its creditors. Many analysts expect the lender to enter bankruptcy soon.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), which lends money to New Century, managed to gain 5.6 percent over the week anyway, to $75.62. Meanwhile, Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) added 6.6 percent this week to $75.79.

Steel makers also saw substantial gains on the week. US Steel (NYSE: X) was 5.9 percent higher to $91.08, while Nucor (NYSE: NUE) gained 10.9 percent to $64.19. Nucor made positive comments pertaining to coming demand for steel.

Tire maker Goodyear (NYSE: GT), up 26 percent so far this year, added 5.6 percent during the week to $28.76. The gains were explained by analysts as the result of a new study showing that Americans have begun replacing the tires on their cars more frequently.

Declines came in sectors as diverse as the internet and retail. Internet search engine Yahoo (NAS: YHOO) dropped 5.4 percent to $29.04 on rumors that it is talking to AT&T (NYSE: T) about changes in their partnership. Meanwhile, warehouse retailer Costco (NAS: COST) fell 2.9 percent to $54.12 on new sales and profits data that did not please analysts.

The New York equities markets were lower at midday on Friday and seemed determined to close out the week with losses as well. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.3 percent at mid-session to 12,468.11, down 0.8 percent on the week and even on the year. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.2 percent on the day so far, to 2,437.99, leaving it 0.5 percent lower for the week. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 was 0.1 percent lower to 1,421.85, a drop of 0.6 percent for the full week.

Technology stocks were mixed during the week, with most showing either big gains or big losses. Among gainers were Sun Microsystems and Texas Instruments. Texas Instruments gained 8.7 percent to $30.86 on a glowing quarterly report, while Sun was 9.5 percent higher to $6.32. Decliners included biotech company Amgen, down 3.8 to $71.41 on a report that did not meet expectations., and Advanced Micro Devices, which fell 8.9 percent to $16.15, again on unmet expectations.

In the internet sector, Yahoo added 2.7 percent over the week to $28.38, a gain of 11 percent since the beginning of the month. Meanwhile, eBay did better than expected in earnings and upped its guidance for this year. The online auctioneer added 8.2 percent this week to $32.09.

Automobile manufacturers were mixed. General Motors added 4.1 percent during the week, to $32.84 even though it dropped from its peak of $33.30 after it said it would delay its fourth quarter report even though it expected that the report would show a profit. On the other hand, Ford dropped 0.5 percent to $8.26 after it said it had taken a loss of $12.7 billion in 2006, the biggest yearly loss in the company’s history.

Wall Street was up at midday on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.32 percent higher to 12,573.46, the Nasdaq Composite up 1.09 percent to 2,457.80, and the S&P 500 adding 0.41 percent to 1,433.79. Positive earnings reports from both Yahoo and Sun Microsystems helped the gains, while the previous evening’s State of the Union address from President George W. Bush didn’t seem to have much impact at all on investors’ activities.

After Mr. Bush proposed an expansion in health care coverage in the speech last night, health benefits insurer Aetna dropped 47 cents to $41.71. In a related sector, drug maker Pfizer added 22 cents to $26.59.

ExxonMobil dropped 22 cents to $74.26 after an announcement of higher crude oil, gasoline, and distillate inventories again last week. Alternative energy producers were lower as well, after posting gains before the president’s address. Ethanol maker Xethanol Corp. dropped 17 cents to $2.90, while Archer Daniels Midland fell $1.06 to $31.57.

Sun Microsystems added 43 cents to $6.09 after increased revenues gave the manufacturer of server and storage products its first quarterly profit in several years. Meanwhile, Yahoo gained $2.03 to $28.99 on fourth quarter profits that were higher than had been anticipated. But Advanced Micro Devices dropped $1.39 to $16.12 reported losses in the fourth quarter, which were blamed on flat sales of server chips.

The New York equities markets were higher at midday on Thursday, led by the Nasdaq Composite as it hit its highest mark in nearly six years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.7 percent higher to 12,526.59, while the S&P 500 added 0.8 percent to 1,425.69. The Nasdaq was up 1.1 percent, to 2,486.88.

In the internet sector, Yahoo added 2 percent to $29.27 and is up 14.6 so far in the new year. Ebay gained 3.1 percent to $30.21 on the news that it has bought sports ticket reseller StubHub for a cash price of $310 million.

Chipmaker Intel was up 1.9 percent to $21.92, going from the worst performer on the Dow in 2006 to its best so far in 2007, having gained 8.2 percent since the year began.

Apple Computer, however, was 0.7 percent lower to $96.28 after a gain of 13 percent since it announced its new iPhone product. The computer maker was hurt by a lawsuit filed by Cisco which claims that it, not Apple, owns the trademark on the name “iPhone”. Cisco added 1 percent to $28.97.

Despite crude oil prices that continue to decline, ExxonMobil added 1.5 percent to $72.08, but it has still dropped 5.7 percent since the beginning of the year.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, Genenetech was 4.3 percent higher to $87.36. The biotechnology company said that its earnings in the fourth quarter were at 61 cents per share, higher than predictions that it would post earnings of 56 cents per share.