Weekly Market Wrap: March 1, 2013
Friday, March 1, 4:55 PM ET

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Hi. I'm Sayoko Murase. Welcome to the 'Weekly Market Wrap' for March 1, 2013.

The S&P 500 was about even, and the Nasdaq and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were higher for the week in Friday afternoon trading.

Crude oil futures are lower this week, trading around $90.50 per barrel on Friday afternoon.

Gold futures are lower this week, trading at $1575.41 an ounce in afternoon trading.

In notable economic news this week, the Commerce Department announced on Wednesday that non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft increased by 6.3 percent, the biggest gain since December 2011. The measure fell by 0.3 percent in December. Economists had expected this category to increase by 0.2 percent. Durable goods orders excluding transportation increased by 1.9 percent, above economists' expectations of 0.2 percent.

In corporate news this week, FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) announced that it lost $148 million during the most recent quarter due to costs related to pension adjustments. The company lost 35 cents per share versus a profit of $99 million, or 23 cents per share, in the same quarter last year. Excluding items, the company earned 80 cents per share. Revenue fell by 10 percent to $3.5 billion. Adjusted profit met expectations, though revenue was below estimates. Analysts had expected a profit of 80 cents per share on $4.85 billion in revenue.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) announced that it earned $1.02 billion, or 68 cents per share for the quarter ending on February 3rd, versus $774 million, or 50 cents per share in the same period last year. Sales increased by 14% to $18.25 billion. Analyst had expected earnings of 64 cents per share on revenue of $17.7 billion. Gross margins increased to 35% from 34.9%, and same store sales grew by 7%. The company expects earnings per share of $3.37 for the year, below the $3.49 expected by analysts and same store sales growth of 3%.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN) announced that it earned $26.4 million, or 7 cents per share, up from $4 million, or one cent per share, in the same period last year. Analysts had expected earnings of eight cents per share. Revenue increased by two percent to $629.9 million, while analysts had expected revenue of $630 million. The company reaffirmed 2013 earnings guidance of between 18 and 20 cents per share, while analysts had expected earnings of 18 cents per share.

Target (NYSE:TGT) announced that it earned $961 million, or $1.47 per share, down from $981 million, or $1.45 per share, in the same period last year. Excluding certain items, earnings were $1.65 per share, beating estimates of $1.47 per share. Revenue increased by seven percent to $22.73 billion from $21.29 billion, beating estimates. The company said that it expects to earn between $1.10 per share to $1.20 per share, beating estimates of $1.05 per share.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) announced that its loss in the fourth quarter dropped to $409 million, or $1.21 per share, from $1.82 billion, or $5.17 per share, in the same period last year. Revenue increased to $16.71 billion versus $16.67 billion in the same period last year. Excluding items, the company earned $1.64 per share.

This is the 'Weekly Market Wrap' for Friday March 1, 2013. Please join us on Monday for the Week Ahead Market Report.