Goldman Sachs results fall, hurt by difficult markets

Investment bank Goldman Sachs said its first quarter profits dropped by 56 percent from a year earlier, as the Wall Street firm was not immune from the difficult trading environment last quarter that hurt much of its competition.

The average estimate of eight analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $2.57 per share.

"The operating environment this quarter presented a broad range of challenges, resulting in headwinds across virtually every one of our businesses," said Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein in a prepared statement.