New data leaves Wall Street mixed at midday

After some early declines, Wall Street was mixed at midday on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.11 percent lower to 12,461.30, a rebound to about 13 points lower after having fallen around 50 points earlier in the session. On the other hand, the Nasdaq Composite was 0.64 percent higher to 2,438.59, while the S&P 500 was up slightly to 1,416.68. Volume was at 761 million shares changing hands by the middle of the session.

Lower oil prices helped retailers, some of which saw slight gains even though they issued profits warnings earlier in the session. Target gained 4 cents to $57.22 even though it did not live up to earlier estimates of sales. The Gap added 5 cents to $10.36 despite saying that its fourth quarter of 2006 will not meet expectations. Federated Department Stores was 16 cents higher to $37.67. Limited Brands, however, dropped $1.98 to $27.60 on reports that store traffic was down.

The oil sector, on the other hand, declined on the lower prices for crude oil. Chevron dropped 35 cents to $70.62, while ExxonMobil fell 68 cents to $73.43.

Several new bits of economic data affected trade during the day. The Institute of Supply Management’s services sector index showed that growth was slower in December than it had been in November. On the other hand, the Commerce Department reported that factory orders were up in November, but the news was tempered by the fact that the comeback was smaller than expected and partly the result of a big demand for military aircraft. Additionally, the Labor Department said that unemployment claims were at their highest level since late in November.

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