Dow Finishes Month With 15-Year High – Acadiana Business Index

Despite the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 21 points,

the Dow finished the month with a 3.4% gain, its largest percentage increase in January since 1997. Mark Lasseigne has your stock market report report on today's Acadiana Business Index.

• The Conference Board's index of consumer confidence retreated this month, well shy of the reading expected by economists.

• Separately, U.S. home prices fell again in November, according to the Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller home-price index.

• Exxon Mobil fell 2%, after reporting earnings in line with estimates. But, margins declined with rising oil prices and weaker fuel demand.

• Pfizer fell 0.9% after the pharmaceutical company reported earnings and revenue that topped expectations, but lowered its 2012 earnings outlook.

• And, U.S. Steel climbed 6.1%.  The company reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss, but it said it expected a significant improvement in the current-quarter.

• Light, sweet crude settled at $98.28 a barrel.

• Gold closing at $1,738 an ounce.