This twelfth trading week of 2012 comes to a close with investors analyzing the latest housing data indicating that the housing market may be a long way from a recovery.
Hi. I'm Sayoko Murase. Welcome to the 'Weekly Market Wrap' for Friday March 23, 2012.
The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were lower for the week while the Nasdaq was at a gain for the week in late Friday trading.
Crude oil futures are slightly lower this week, trading around $106.94 per barrel on Friday afternoon.
Gold futures are slightly higher this week, to $1664.59 an ounce in afternoon trading.
In notable economic news this week, the Commerce Department said that new-home sales fell by 1.6% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 313,000 homes.
In corporate news this week, UPS (NYSE:UPS) announced plans to acquire shipper TNT for $6.9 billion.
Tiffany (NYSE:TIF) announced that fourth-quarter profits fell by 1.6% to $178.4 million, or $1.39 a share, missing estimates of $1.42 a share. However, the company announced that full year earnings should $4.05 per share, ahead of estimates of $3.92 per share.
Shares are higher by about 7.7 percent.
Adobe Systems (NASDAQ:ADBE) announced that it earned $284.5 million, or 57 cents a share, on revenue of $1.045 billion in the first quarter. Analysts had expected earnings of 57 cents a share on revenue of $1.053 billion.
General Mills (NYSE:GIS) announced that earnings fell by 0.2% though sales were 13% higher. The company earned $391.5 million, or 58 cents per share, for the fiscal quarter that ended on February 26, versus $392.1 million, or 59 cents per share in the same period last year. Adjusted earnings were 55 cents versus 56 cents, and sales were $4.12 billion versus $3.65 billion. Analysts had expected earnings of 56 cents per share on revenues of $4.09 billion.
FedEx (NYSE:FDX) reported that it earned $521 million, or $1.65 per share, versus $231 million, or 73 cents per share, in the same period last year. Revenue increased by $10.56 billion from $9.66 billion in the same period last year. Analysts expected the firm to earn $1.34 per share on revenue of $10.6 billion. The company said it expects fourth-quarter earnings to be between $1.75 and $2 per share, and full year earnings to be in the range of $6.35 to $6.60 per share.
This is the 'Weekly Market Wrap' for Friday March 23, 2012. Please join us on Monday for the 'Week Ahead Market Report."
Any ideas and opinions presented in all Market News Video clips are for informational and educational purposes
only, and do not reflect the opinions of BNK Invest, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries or partners.
In no way should any content contained herein be interpreted to represent trading or investment advice.
None of the information contained herein constitutes a recommendation that any particular security, portfolio,
transaction, or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person. All viewers agree that under no
circumstances will BNK Invest, Inc,. its subsidiaries, partners, officers, employees, affiliates, or agents be held
liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information obtained. Read Full Disclaimer.
Launch related slideshow:
