Rebound on broad rally, $73 crude. Energy stocks sprinted to a higher close Wednesday, reclaiming all of the ground lost in the previous session's rout. As with Tuesday's steep decline, the rebound was tied to the broader equity market, helped along by a three-week high for crude-oil prices.
The Amex Oil Index (XOI:1,346.39, +41.20, +3.2%) moved solidly into the green, adding 3.2% to 1,346 points a day after a 2.8% tumble that sent all of its components into the red. Refiner Sunoco Inc. (SUN:71.30, +2.88, +4.2%) was the stand-out gainer, up 4.2% at $71.30 a share.
Heavy-hitter Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM: 85.23, +2.23, +2.7%) rose 2.7% to $85.23 a share while Chevron Corp. (CVX: 86.70, +2.40, +2.8%) added nearly 2.9% to end at $86.70.
The move mirrored widespread gains in the broad market as investors scooped up bargains in the aftermath of Tuesday's sell-off. The result was a 247-point, or 1.9%, gain for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI: 13,289.29, +247.44, +1.9%).
The Philadelphia Oil Service Index ($OSX:269.31, +9.85, +3.8%) rose a whopping 3.8% to 269 points, led by gains of over 4% for shares in National Oilwell Varco (NOV: 122.76, +5.18, +4.4%) , Smith International (SII: 64.06, +2.55, +4.1%) and Weatherford International, Inc. (WFT:56.58, +2.24, +4.1%) . The Amex Natural Gas Index (XNG:474.55, +10.00, +2.2%) also charged ahead, though with a slightly less enthusiastic 2.1% rise to 476 points. It lost 2.4% Tuesday despite a 4% spike in September natural gas futures.
October crude-oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $1.78 to $73.51 a barrel, a level not touched since Aug. 3. The gains accelerated after the Energy Department reported U.S. crude-oil inventories fell 3.5 million barrels last week to 333.6 million, a far steeper drop than most traders had expecte.
Gasoline supplies fell by 3.6 million barrels to 192.6 million, or 8.2% less than where they stood a year ago, triggering a 4.2% jump in September gasoline futures to $2.1008 a gallon.
September natural gas futures fell 2.9% to end at $5.43 per million British thermal units. October natural gas became the lead-month contract at the close. It finished 3.1% lower at $5.581.
Overseas, Cnooc Ltd. (CEO:119.44, +5.59, +4.9%) , China's largest offshore oil and gas producer, said its net profit for the six months ended June 30 fell 11% from a year ago. It blamed the reversal on lower oil and gas prices and production setbacks on fields hit by typhoons.
CNOOC said first-half net profit totaled 14.55 billion yuan ($1.93 billion), down from $16.28 billion a year earlier.
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