A mixed bag of earnings reports on Thursday boxed in oil and gas stocks, which got no support from underlying energy prices.
Investors swept in to lock in two days of gains while others jumped on encouraging earnings from the likes of Royal Dutch Shell Plc, (RDSA : 71.61, +0.92, +1.3% ) whose U.S.-traded shares were up 1.2% in early action in New York.
By mid-morning, the bulls appeared to be breaking the impasse, nudging the Amex Oil Index ($XOI : 1,299.77, +13.06, +1.0% ) 0.5% higher to 1,293 points. The Amex Natural Gas Index ($XNG : 500.61, +3.43, +0.7% ) was also up 0.5% at 499.8 points. The Anglo-Dutch oil giant reported a 6% rise in first-quarter profit, with strong refining margins helping overcome the impact of lower oil prices and a drop in production. See full story.
At the other end of the scale, shares of East Coast refiner and marketer Sunoco Inc. (SUN : 76.71, -0.99, -1.3% ) were off 3.2% as traders reacted to a disappointing first quarter. The company was hampered by refinery problems through much of the winter, limiting its ability to capture strong heating-oil margins. See full story.
Sunoco said the bulk of its operational woes are now behind it, however, as it gears up gasoline production for summer drivers. Meanwhile, June crude-oil prices were down 60 cents in New York at $63.08 a barrel. See Futures Movers.
Investors plowed through several earnings reports in the oil-services sector. Their net effect was bearish, sending the Philadelphia Oil Service Index ($OSX : 239.86, +2.74, +1.2% ) 0.3% lower to 236.4 points. Global Industries Ltd. (GLBL :21.77, +0.86, +4.1% ) reported first-quarter earnings of 46 cents a share, topping the 34-cent consensus on Wall Street, but revenues of $277 million were less than the $289 million analysts expected. Shares were off 0.4% at $20.82.
Patterson-Uti Energy Inc. (PTEN :26.00, +1.54, +6.3% ) was charging ahead, up as much as 6.3% after the drilling company posted first-quarter profit of 73 cents a share, down from a year ago but two cents a share more than Wall Street expected. The company said it's recently seen a modest increase in its rig count in the U.S. and continues to believe that increased drilling activity will be required to avoid a shortfall of natural gas.
Refiner Tesoro (TSO :115.13, -8.70, -7.0% ) reported earnings more than doubled to $1.67 a share from 61 cents in the year-earlier period, as revenue was flat at $3.88 billion. Analysts had been looking for $1.84, triggering an exit from the stock. The shares were last down 5.4%.
In the natural gas group, Williams Cos. (WMB : 29.22, -0.66, -2.2% ) posted a first-quarter per-share profit of 22 cents, unchanged from a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, earnings from operations rose to 29 cents a share from 26 cents. Analysts were looking for 34 cents. The stock was down 2% at $29.26.
BajaeNergyBLOG
OiL,Baja
eNergy
BLOG
