On the upside
PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) posted higher 4th quarter profits that met expectations. The stronger dollar did hurt net results, but the snack and beverage company reaffirmed growth in 2009.Teen retailer Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) posted lower revenues as same-store fell 25% in the 4th quarter. However, investors were cheered by the company's continued earnings and dividend payment.
Coinstar (Nasdaq: CSTR) posted 4th quarter profits as revenues for the coin-counting machine maker and operator nearly doubled. Coinstar also announced plans to buy out investors of Redbox, an automated DVD rental machine provider, for $176 million.
On the downside
Hotel and timeshare company Wyndham Worldwide (NYSE: WYN) reported lower revenues and a quarterly loss due to a one-time charge.Savient Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: SVNT) announced a delay of its FDA review for a gout drug candidate and the dismissal of its CFO.
Cabot Oil & Gas (NYSE: COG) announced a list of achievements while revealing that its debt load had increased by $800 million.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 5 to 4 on the NYSE and by nearly 2 to 1 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks added 5 points to 455.