Energy stocks moved deep into the red Thursday as profit disappointment from Exxon Mobil signaled a selling spree, adding its weight to a 312-point drop for the Dow Jones Industrials. It was the biggest one-day drop for the sector this year.
The Amex Oil Index (XOI :1,389.91, -49.52, -3.4% ) fell 3.5% to 1,388 points. Hess Corp. (HES : 62.48, -4.10, -6.2% ) led decliners in the group with a loss of 6.3% to $62.38. The Amex Natural Gas Index (XNG : 493.41, -13.76, -2.7% ) dropped 2.5% to 494.7. Williams Cos. (WMB : 31.35, -1.96, -5.9% ) led percentage decliners in the group with a 4.2% fall to $31.90.
The Philadelphia Oil Service Index ($OSX : 277.73, -6.93, -2.4% ) fell 2.4% to 277.7 and the CBOE Oil Index (OIX : 767.55, -26.02, -3.3% ) gave up 3.5% to finished the day at 765.6. Crude oil futures rose 17 cents to $76.05 after trading above $77 earlier in the session.
The energy sector sell-off helped drag down the broader market, which posted slightly less severe losses, with the S&P 500 ($SPX : 1,482.78, -35.31, -2.3% ) giving up 2.3% to 1,483 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($DJ :13,441.46, -343.61, -2.5% ) sinking nearly 312 points to 13,474.
Exxon Mobil (XOM :87.73, -5.06, -5.5% ) weighed on the sector with a share-price drop of 4.9% to $88.23 after its earnings fell short of Wall Street expectations. The oil giant missed its profit target for the first time in more than a year and reported a 1% decline in production.
ConocoPhillips (COP :81.20, -3.25, -3.8% ) fell 2.9% to $81.81, giving back all of its 2.4% gain in the previous session on its second-quarter results.
No. 2 Chevron Corp. (CVX :88.10, -2.97, -3.3% ) , fell 3.9% to close at $87.46 ahead of its second-quarter earnings report on Friday. Meanwhile, shares of Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA : 79.07, -2.06, -2.5% ) reversed earlier gains and moved into the red, falling 2% to $79.47 after the Anglo-Ditch oil giant posted an 18% increase in second-quarter profit on its healthy refinery business.
Via: MarketWatch
by Steve Gelsi
by Steve Gelsi
