Citigroup Inc. and General Electric Co.’s financial results beat analysts’ expectations, sending those companies’ stocks up, but the markets remained flat in morning trading.

Citigroup ended its first quarter with a profit of $1.6 billion, ending a five-quarter losing streak, Bloomberg reported. However, on a per-share basis, the bank said it lost 18 cents per share because of costs related to preferred dividends. The results compare with a net loss of $5.11 billion, or 34 cents per share, a year earlier.

Analysts had expected a loss of 32 cents per share.

Citigroup benefited from $4.69 billion in fixed-income trading revenues in the quarter, compared with a loss of $7.02 billion in the year-ago period. Still, the bank had $5.62 billion in write-downs on subprime-mortgage-related securities and other investments, which was still better than the $14.1 billion in write-downs in the first quarter of 2008.

Meanwhile, General Electric Co.’s profits from continuing operations declined 35 percent to $2.83 billion, or 26 cents per share, in the first quarter, but the result was better than analysts estimates of 21 cents per share.

Lower earnings at GE Capital and declining demand for medical equipment and NBC Universal advertising reduced profits. Revenues were down 9 percent to $38.4 billion.