The energy sector also resisted a move up in crude prices to a high of $76.30 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was last up $1.15 at $76.10, trading some 0.4% above last Friday's closing level of $75.79. The Amex Oil Index ($XOI : 1,371.35, -17.12, -1.2% ) was off 2.6% at 1,352 points, with Chevron (CVX : 86.74, -0.72, -0.8% ) giving up ground as bears took control.
Marathon Oil (MRO : 55.74, -1.21, -2.1% ) led decliners in the index with a fall of nearly 4% to $54.75. The Philadelphia Oil Services Index ($OSX : 275.99, -1.74, -0.6% ) fell 2.2%, while the Amex Natural Gas Index (XNG : 491.59, -3.10, -0.6% ) shed about 2%.
Chevron (CVX :86.74, -0.72, -0.8% ) fell $1.28 to $86.18 after the U.S.'s No. 2 oil giant beat Wall Street's profit targets on improved refining margins. The company also said it would accelerate its share buyback program to $1.9 billion in the third quarter, up from $1.75 billion spent in the second quarter. The company said it's expecting to issue a fresh buyback program once the current $5 billion program is up. Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI : 80.06, -1.20, -1.5% ) was off 1.6% after reporting quarterly earnings of $1.09 a share, in line with analysts' expectations. Noble Energy (NE : 103.59, -0.82, -0.8% ) fell $1.41 to $103.01 after setting plans for a 2-for-1 stock split on Aug. 28 to shareholders of record as of Aug. 8. The oil drilling company also said it would double its quarterly dividend to 4 cents a share payable after the split.
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