Stocks Ended Flat, Made Late Recovery

U.S. stocks made a late-session recovery and finished roughly flat on Tuesday, as investors reassessed Greece’s prospects and a retail sales report. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 4.24 points to 12,878.28. The S&P 500 was off 1.27 point to 1,350.5. The Nasdaq Composite  gained 0.44 point to 2,931.83.

Zynga Inc. (ZNGA) posted a net loss for the fourth quarter, though adjusted earnings for the quarter came in ahead of Wall Street’s estimates. For the period ended Dec. 31, Zynga reported a net loss of $435 million, or $1.22 a share, compared to net earnings of $43 million, or 5 cents a share, for the same period the previous year.

Peet’s Coffee & Tea (PEET) late Tuesday posted a 12% drop in fourth-quarter profit from a year ago, weighed down by steeper costs for unroasted green coffee beans and milk. Profit was $5.6 million, or 42 cents a share, down from $6.4 million, or 48 cents a share, in the same 2010 period. Revenue rose 11% to $101.6 million.

MetLife Inc.(MET) on Tuesday reported a fiscal fourth-quarter profit of $1.1 billion, or $1.06 a share, on total revenue of $16.4 billion. During the same period a year ago, MetLife earned $51 million, or 5 cents a share, on $13.8 billion in sales. Operating profit for the insurance giant was $1.4 billion, or $1.31 a share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet Research had forecast MetLife to earn $1.24 a share on $16.9 billion in sales.