Results were mixed in the New York equities markets on Monday, but with not much movement in either direction by the end of the session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up a fraction to 10,682.94 and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.3 percent to 2,182.83, but the S&P 500 fell fractionally to 1,240.57.

The lackluster performance followed gains last week that came on optimism that the huge reconstruction job after Hurricane Katrina would benefit the economy.

Two airlines trying to avoid bankruptcy saw declines. Shares in Northwest Airlines dropped by 3.3 percent to $3.31 after discussions with striking mechanics broke down, and Delta Air Lines fell by 22.7 percent to 85 cents as rumors circulated that a bankruptcy filing could come at any time.

In the oil and gas sectors, retreats were also abundant. Oil refiner Sunoco dropped 4.5 percent to $76.09, while Exxon Mobil lost 1.1 percent to $62.52 as crude oil prices fell. Meanwhile, natural gas producer Dynergy lost 1.9 percent to $4.66 after it announced that two of its facilities were damaged by Katrina.

Elsewhere, eBay was up by 0.8 percent to $38.94 after it announced that it will purchase internet telephone group Skype for $2.6 billion. Contractor Halliburton dropped by 3.8 percent to $63.60.

Crude oil prices once again were a major reason that Tokyo equities markets ended the day lower on Wednesday. The Nikkei 225 was down 0.3 percent to 12,413.60, while the Topix index fell 0.2 percent to 1,271.29.

Airlines, shippers and automobile manufacturers all fell, as did the transport equipment sector, which was down 0.8 percent as a whole. Toyota lost 1.1 percent to ¥4,500 as investors worried that the export-dependent carmaker could be harmed if demand in the US goes down due to high oil prices.

Japan Airlines, which said it was considering raising domestic fares, was down 1.3 percent to ¥311, as the air transport sector fell 0.6 percent. Shipper Mitsui OSK declined by 0.7 percent to ¥808.

In addition Japan’s second largest travel agency, Kinki Nippon Tourist, lost 3.7 percent to ¥315 on worries that travel costs will increase.

Oil refiner and shipper Cosmo Oil decreased by 4.7 percent to ¥549 on the announcement that it would issue ¥39 billion in new bonds and shares as it tries to raise money to expand its refining capacity.

The effects of Hurricane Katrina began to be felt on the New York equities markets on Tuesday, a combination of soaring oil prices, news of damage to the infrastructure in the areas affected that will cost insurers billions of dollars, and closures of retailers in the region hit by the storm.

Not even a report of increased consumer confidence in August helped much. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5 percent on the day to close at 10,412.82, the Nasdaq composite lost 0.4 percent to 2,129, and the S&P 500 closed down 0.3 percent to 1,208.41.

All areas of the transport sector felt the effect of high oil prices. Delta Airlines, which was already near bankruptcy, lost 5.5 percent to $1.20 as the Amex airline index fell 3 percent to 46.75.

Ground transport was not immune either, as United Parcel Service fell 1.1 percent to $70.42 and rail freight company CSX declined by 1.7 percent to $44.85.

Insurers and reinsures dropped as damage estimates in the hurricane zone rose. Hartford Financial Services lost nearly 0.3 percent to $73.15, while American International Group declined by 0.4 percent to $59.28. Retailers and restaurants were down on the day, with many of them suffering closures in the storm-affected areas.

Wal-Mart lost 1 percent to $45.19 after it said that 123 of its stores had been closed due to the hurricane. Jewelry retailer Tiffany lost 2.6 percent to $33.31. Office supply chain Staples lost 2.9 percent to $21.85.

The oil sector, on the other hand saw substantial gains. Refiner ConocoPhillips was up 2.1 percent to $64.41, while oilfield services company Halliburton saw the value of its shares rise 3.5 percent to $59.84.

The Tokyo equities markets were down substantially on Monday as crude oil prices rose to new highs yet again, peaking at over $70 per barrel.

The Nikkei 225 lost 1 percent to 12,309.83, while the Topix index declined by 1.1 percent to 1,258.64.

Stocks were down almost across the board as it was believed by investors that high oil prices would hit exports only marginally more than they would hit companies that depend on domestic demand.

Energy-dependent sectors did especially badly, with the sea transport sector down 2 percent as a whole, while the air transport sector was down an even larger 2.2 percent, due to a bomb scare on a Japan Airlines plane as well as to the surge in oil prices.

Information and communications stocks were down 1.4 percent, while the transport equipment sector fell 1.3 percent, and precision machinery as a whole lost 1.2 percent.

In the airlines sector, Japan Airlines lost 3.1 percent to ¥313 and All Nippon Airways fell by 1.4 percent to ¥362. Japan’s largest automobile manufacturer lost 2 percent to ¥4,450, and it’s biggest shipper, Nippon Yusen, declined by 1.7 percent to ¥686.

Japan’s largest brokerage house, Nomura, lost 1.6 percent to ¥1,488 as the securities sector as a whole fell by 1.5 percent.

In European equities markets on Monday, stocks rose after a full week of losses last week as the FTSE Eurofirst 300 ended the day up 0.3 percent to 1,167.43, in the absence of trading of 76 UK stocks because of the UK bank holiday.

The oil sector was mixed on the day, with Hurricane Katrina to blame. Smaller oil companies were mainly up, with Austrian company OMV up 2.7 percent to €43.70, while Saipem of Italy added 1.7 percent to €13.17.

However some larger oil companies, and especially those with operations in the Gulf of Mexico, sustained losses due to production halts and the uncertainty over whether or not their facilities would sustain damage from the storm. Royal Dutch Shell lost 0.1 percent to €26.79. Despite the storm Total, the French oil company, managed to gain 0.4 percent to €206.60.

The airlines and automobile manufacturing sectors saw losses due to rising oil prices. Lufthansa fell 0.1 percent to €10.74 and Ryanair declined by 0.6 percent to €6.55.

Tui, out of Germany, managed to overcome the news of higher oil prices to gain 1.2 percent to €19.28 on its announcement that it was thinking about raising fuel surcharges this winter.

In the auto sector Volkswagen was one of the few stocks to avoid losses, avoiding movement at all to stay at €42.91. Elsewhere, Renault lost 0.6 percent to €71.55, while Peugeot and Porsche each fell by 0.2 percent, to €50.60 and €637.63 respectively.

Insurers also had a bad day as losses due to Hurricane Katrina were being projected to possibly rise as high as $25 billion if it hit major population centers.

Primary insurers did badly enough, with Zurich Financial falling as far as SFr215.20 before ending the day up by only 0.1 percent to SFr220.70 and ING losing 0.3 percent to €23.18. Reinsurers did even worse. Swiss Re fell 0.4 percent to SFr81.65, Munich Re lost 0.5 percent to €90.73, and Hannover Re declined by 0.8 percent to €29.70.

The results of high oil prices ran the results on European equities markets on Thursday, even though crude oil prices retreated some from record high prices as the day progressed.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 0.7 percent to 1,172.57, its lowest close in three weeks.

Oil stocks were up early but gave up their gains later in the day, and shares in companies highly dependent on oil and oil products were down on the prospect of having to pay higher prices for those products.

In the oil sector, Total lost 1 percent to €207.30, while Repsol fell by 1.4 percent to €23.52 and Eni declined by 1.5 percent to €23.49.

Oil service group Saipem, however, gained 1.8 percent to €13.14 on an upgraded rating to “buy” from “neutral” from UBS.

Among oil-dependent companies, chemical group BASF lost 1.2 percent to €57.28.

In the automobile sector, Renault dropped 1.8 percent to €72.30, while Volkswagen was down 1.5 percent to €43.29.

The airlines were down as well, with Lufthansa losing 0.8 percent to €10.89 and Air France-KLM closing down 2.8 percent at €13.25.

Technology were also down on worries that higher energy costs would mean less money to spend elsewhere. Infineon lost 0.6 percent to €7.90, while STMicroelectronics was down 0.9 percent to €13.55 and ASML dropped 1.6 percent to €13.69.

Ericsson fell 2.3 percent to SKr25.60, and Nokia was down 1 percent to €12.67.

The London equity markets were mixed on Tuesday, with the FTSE 100 falling by 0.3 percent at the close to 5,300.2 even as the FTSE 250 added 0.2 percent to end the session at 7,707.4 on a volume of 2.4 billion shares traded.

British Airways lost 1.6 percent to 285 ¼p as analysts began to assess the damages to the air carrier incurred by the caterer’s walkout at Heathrow airport. One analyst said that BA could have its profits for the year cut by as much as £40 million.

Rolls Royce lost 0.1 percent to 341 ¼p after the announcement that it had won a joint contract worth $2.4 billion in conjunction with General Electric to develop new engines for the joint strike fighter, becoming part of the costliest military project in history.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, Acambis gained 4.1 percent to 255p on the announcement that it has successfully concluded phase II trials on a treatment for Japanese Encephalitis.

In the mining sector, Antofagasta added 1.5 percent to £14.91 on the possibility of more merger and acquisition activity involving the Chilean miner in the wake of the death last week of its former chairman and largest shareholder. Another factor in the company’s advance was the raised interim profits forecasts for 2006, up 43 percent to $341 million due to record copper prices.

Volumes were light on European equities markets on Tuesday as many investors took summer holidays and as the FTSE Eurofirst 300 lost 0.6 percent to 1,186.73.

The pharmaceuticals sector was still feeling the fallout from last Friday’s jury verdict against Merck in the first Vioxx case to reach the US courts. Novo Nordisk lost 1.5 percent to DKr323.50 after a US rival reported success in clinical trials of a diabetes drug, which caused concerns that Novo Nordisk’s development of a similar product might be undermined.

Elsewhere in the sector, Sanofi-Aventis lost 1.6 percent to €70.65 and Novartis and Roche each declined by 1.1 percent. Novartis ended the session at SFr61.65, while Roche settled at SFr173.60.

Oil prices caused declines in both the oil sector and in sectors which use a great deal of oil products. In the oil sector, Eni dropped 2.1 percent to €23.47, Total lost 1.2 percent to €208.30, and Repsol YPF declined by
1 percent to €23.86.

Most companies in the automobile manufacturing sector were also down on the day. The exception was Fiat, which closed up 2.8 percent to €7.446 on the heels of Monday’s 3.3 percent gain. Elsewhere in the sector, Peugeot lost 1.2 percent to €51.80, DaimlerChrysler fell 1.3 percent to €42.14, Porsche closed 1.9 percent lower at €643.22.

In the airlines sector, Air France lost 2.4 percent to €13.62 and Lufthansa closed even at €11.09 after recovering from a decline earlier in the day.

In London on Wednesday, the equities markets saw their fifth day in a row of negative figures at the close of trade as the Bank of England released the minutes from the most recent meeting of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee.

The banking and insurance sectors took the implication of the report, that there would not be another interest rate cut soon, especially badly. Overall, the FTSE 100 lost 0.6 percent to close at 5,292.7, while the FTSE 250 declined by 0.6 percent as well, to 7,654.5 at the close. In banking and insurance, Royal Sun Alliance was down 2.3 percent to 94 ¼p, Barclays lost 2.1 percent to 563p, Aviva declined by 2.4 percent to 621 ½p, and Prudential fell 1.7 percent to 514 ½p.

The telecommunications sector did somewhat better as Vodafone gained 0.7 percent to 151 p, BT added 1.8 percent to 220 ¾p, O2 added 2.8 percent to 146 ¾p, and Colt-Telecom gained 3.7 percent to 62 ½p.

The airline sector was mixed. British Airways fell 2 percent to 385 ¾p as its labor dispute continued. EasyJet, however, was up 1.3 percent to 299p after it announced it would save £10 million for the year as a result of a 10-year maintenance deal with Swiss firm SR Technics worth $1 billion.

Mining companies were down for the second day in a row as copper prices continued to fall. BHP Billiton lost 2.9 percent to 813p, Anglo American declined by 2.8 percent to £14.11, Rio Tinto fell 2.6 percent to £19.85, while Antofagasta dropped 1.8 percent to £14.04.

New York equities markets were down substantially on Tuesday, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.14 percent to 10,513.45, the Nasdaq composite fell by 1.38 percent to 2,137.06, and the S&P 500 lost 1.18 percent to 1,219.34.

Shares in Wal-Mart were down by more than 3.3 percent at mid-afternoon to $47.50 on the news that while second quarter earnings had risen by 6 percent , the third-quarter outlook was not as good. The world’s largest retailer blamed this assessment on rising oil prices.

Elsewhere in the retail sector, Home Depot and Staples both reported much higher sales in the second quarter. Home Depot said it experienced a 20 percent rise in sales and a same-store sales increase of 4 percent. Office goods retailer Staples also said their sales were up 20 percent in the quarter, 1 percent better than analysts thought they would do. Still, shares in both companies were down. Home Depot lost 1.4 percent to $41.04, while Staples declined by 2.1 percent to $21.85.

In the airline sector, the Amex airline index gained 3.4 percent, its first increase after 11 straight declining sessions. Delta Air Lines gained 9.4 percent to $1.52, Northwest Airlines added 10.6 percent to $4.61, and SkyWest was up 11 percent to $24.46.

New York equities markets were up on Monday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Nasdaq composite, and the S&P 500 all saw gains by the end of the day.

The Dow ended the day up 0.3 percent to 10,634.38, while the Nasdaq was up 0.5 percent to close at 2,167.04 and the S&P 500 gained 0.3 percent to 1,233.87. Oil prices that fell slightly helped the gains.

In the media sector, there were rumors that Dow Jones, the owner of the Wall Street Journal, might be for sale. Shares in Dow Jones were up by as much as 15 percent during the day, but closed lower than that but at a gain for the day of 11 percent to $41.14. Time Warner added 1.4 percent to $18.50 on the news that four investors are planning to pressure the company’s board of directors to buy back $20 billion in stock and spin off its cable business.

In the airlines sector, unconfirmed reports in the New York Times that Delta Air Lines was arranging financing for bankruptcy protection sent the air carrier’s stocks plummeting 13.7 percent.

The New York equities markets ended the day higher on Thursday despite crude oil prices that hit record levels Thursday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day ahead by 0.9 percent at 10,685.89, the Nasdaq composite gained 0.8 percent to 2,174.55, and the S&P 500 was up 0.7 percent at 1,237.81.

The rise in oil prices didn’t help Delta Air Lines, which has been trying to avoid entering bankruptcy. Despite announcing that it will add larger aircraft on it’s New York to Boston and Washington shuttle routes, Delta lost 6.8 percent on the day to $1.79 amid expectations that it will file for bankruptcy soon.

Tivo fell 6.2 percent to $5.62 on the announcement by DirecTV Group that it will quit marketing Tivo digital video recorders this year and replace them with alternate technology from News Corp, which owns 34 percent of DirecTV. DirecTV’s shares fell slightly on the news, to $16.18.

News Corp itself gained 3.4 percent on the day to $18.03 after it announced a jump of 67 percent in its quarterly profits. Yahoo gained 2.2 percent to $34.94 after it said it would pay $1 billion in cash and trade its operations in China in exchange for 40 percent of Alibaba.com, the second-biggest internet auctioneer in China.

Semiconductor manufacturer Intel dropped 0.2 percent on a downgrade to “in-line” by Goldman Sachs.

The London equities markets were down on Thursday as insurance companies fell on warnings weak margins. The FTSE 100 fell 0.4 percent to 5,358.6, while the FTSE 250 lost 0.5 percent to 7,695.3 on a volume of 2.7 billion shares traded.

Aviva, the UK’s biggest insurance company, was down by 2 percent to 644p even though it reported results at the high end of expectations, as it issued a warning that margins in the UK life insurance sector were weak and as analysts said that the company was feeling some pressure to increase volume.

Royal & Sun Alliance fell even more, by 2.1 percent, to 92p as profit taking followed interim earnings results that met expectations. Elsewhere in the sector, Prudential lost 2.2 percent to 525p and Legal & General declined by 1.1 percent to 110 ½p.

In other sectors, British Airways was down 1.3 percent to 292 ¼p after it had to suspend check-ins at Heathrow in a dispute between the air carrier and a caterer.

Defense group BAE Systems gained 1 percent to 332p on an upgrade to “buy” from Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein. More than 81 million shares in BAE were traded when Morgan Stanley placed over 30 million shares at 325 per share.

The mobile phone sector was higher after Morgan Stanley advised investors to put their money in Vodafone and O2 rather than in fixed-line company BT Group. O2 gained 0.9 percent to 145 ½p and Vodafone was up 0.5 percent to 147 ¾p.

In Europe on Wednesday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 gained 0.9 percent to 1,199.87.

The banking sector was especially active on the day. Commerzbank was up 8.3 percent to €21.70 on talk that it could become the target of a foreign takeover bid.

Among those seen as contenders for the German bank are France’s BNP Paribas and Spain’s Santander Central Hispano. Santander denied the reports, while Paribas said that it never comments on such rumors. BNP gained 1.2 percent to €61.05 and Santander was up 0.5 percent to €10.14.

Elsewhere in the banking sector, Unicredito added 2.5 percent to €4.615, while HVB was up 3 percent to €23.10.

In the airlines sector, Lufthansa gained 5.1 percent to €11.29 after it reported its full first-half data on earnings and WestLB confirmed their “outperform” rating for the air carrier.

In utilities, French company Suez added 5.8 percent to €24.90 after a rise of 7 percent on Tuesday on positive analyst sentiment regarding the news that Suez will buy the portion of Belgian electricity supplier Electrabel. Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein rated Suez at “buy” and increased its price target from €20 to €26.

Decliners on the day included Bayer, which lost 1.2 percent to *30.09. Its quarterly report showed earnings up less than expected. Even so, the drugs and chemicals group raised its annual earnings forecast. Danish drugmaker Novo Norsk was also down, by 2.7 percent to DKr326, ahead of its quarterly report.

Investors on the New York equities markets didn’t seem bothered by the rise in interest rates introduced by the Federal Reserve on Tuesday.

This attitude, along with slightly lower crude oil prices and a report that labor costs in the US were being held to reasonable levels, helped the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Nasdaq composite, and the S&P 500 to gains on the day.

The Dow closed up by 0.8 percent to 10, 615.67, the Nasdaq added 0.4 percent to 2,174.19, and the S&P was up 0.7 percent to 1,231.39.

Delta Air Lines had a bad day when Merrill Lynch issued a warning that climbing oil prices could be the factor that tips Delta into bankruptcy. Delta lost 12.6 percent on the day to close at $1.95.

Video and games rental company Blockbuster didn’t have an especially good day either after it reported quarterly losses that more than doubled expectations after trying to challenge competitor Netflix in the online-order DVD rental market. Blockbuster fell 11.5 percent on the day to $7.09, 75 percent lower than its highest price of $29.51, reached in May 2002. Netflix, meanwhile, saw a gain of 1.9 percent on the day to $21.34.

Cisco Systems, the internet equipment maker, did better, gaining 1.9 percent to $19.61 on anticipation of a good quarterly report which was due to be released after the close of trade.

Walt Disney, which was also set to report after trade closed on Tuesday, was up by 2.9 percent to $26.14.

In Europe on Monday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 gained 0.6 percent to 1,181.34 after reaching up to 1,183.52 earlier in the day.

The telecommunications sector was mixed. Nokia gained 1.1 percent to €13.06 on rumors that US company Cisco Systems could be getting ready to bid for the Finnish mobile phone manufacturer. Nokia denied any knowledge of the reports.

Alcatel was up by 0.3 percent to €9.90, but Ericsson lost 0.4 percent to SKr26.20.

The oil sector was up substantially on new record high crude oil prices. Repsol was up by 1.8 percent to €23.42, total gained 1.3 percent to €208.70, and Eni advanced by 1.7 percent to €23.66. Norsk Hydro gained 2.5 percent to NKr643 and Statoil added 2.3 percent to NKr147.50 as the two companies announced that they would develop the Troll oil and gas field off Norway at a possible cost of $8 billion.

The airlines sector was up despite rises in oil prices. Air France-KLM gained 3.6 percent to €13.68 on a rise of 9.2 percent in passengers in July, while they filled 85.2 percent of their available seats, a record. Meanwhile, Germany’s Lufthansa was up 2.1 percent to €10.70 as it announced that July traffic was 6.8 percent higher than last year in July.

In other sectors, French luxury goods company Hermes lost 1.9 percent to €162.80 although it said its half-year sales were up. Adidas-Salomon fell by 2.4 percent to €151.40 on profit-taking after its large advance last week on news that it would purchase Reebok.