Goldman, Citi curb bulls'

Dow tries to keep 10,000 in sight. Goldman tops expectations, but results disappoint. Citigroup posts a per-share loss.

Posted by Elizabeth Strott on Thursday, October 15, 2009 8:49 AM

Updated at 1:40 p.m. ET

The bulls were taking a break today, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) struggled to hang on to the 10,000 level as investors digested third-quarter results from Goldman Sachs (GS)and Citigroup (C).

Neither Goldman nor Citi was able to prompt buying in financials or spark a broader second-day surge in stocks, as Citigroup posted a loss of 27 cents per share and Goldman's results disappointed.

At 1:40 p.m. ET, the Dow was down 11 points to 10,004. The Nasdaq Composite Index ($COMPX) had lost 7 points to 2,165 and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index ($INX) had shed 1 point to 1,091.

Crude oil rose $1.99 to $77.17 a barrel this afternoon, a new 2009 intraday high for black gold.

Real gold, on the other hand, pulled back to $1,055.40 an ounce after hitting an all-time high of $1,070.80 an ounce on Wednesday.

Goldman tops estimates

Goldman earned $3.19 billion, or $5.25 a share, in the third quarter, up from $810 million, or $1.81 a share a year ago and topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 per share. Goldman's net revenue rose to $12.37 billion, from $6.04 billion a year ago.