Energy stocks fell back into negative territory Thursday, dragged down by a 192-point decline in the broader equities market that overwhelmed an early rally built on crude-oil's surge past $97 a barrel.
At the close, the Amex Oil Index (XOI:1,566.09, -10.76, -0.7%) was down 0.7% at 1,566 points while the Philadelphia Oil Service Index ($OSX:304.89, -3.32, -1.1%) fell 1.1% to 304.9 points and the Amex Natural Gas Index (XNG:575.44, -4.50, -0.8%) index dropped 0.8% to 575 points.
News of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto's assassination at a political rally in Rawalpindi jolted the market. While Pakistan is not an oil exporter, Bhutto's death raises major concerns over the political fallout in this volatile region of the world.
The sector also got an early lift on a bullish report from Energy Information Administration data that showed U.S. crude-oil inventories fell 3.3 million barrels last week, about twice what the market was expecting. The supply data and Bhutto's death pushed crude-oil for February delivery well past the $97-a-barrel mark on the New York Mercantile Exchange. But the contract gave fell back at the close to settle at $96.62, up 65 cents for the day.
Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI:13,359.61, -192.08, -1.4%) tumbled 192 points, or 1.4%, at 13,359.61 points, rattled by the news from Pakistan and a disappointing batch of U.S. economic data.
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM:93.67, -1.14, -1.2%) , part of the Dow Jones Industrials, fell 1.2% to $93.67 a share, giving up slim early-session gains. No. 2 U.S. oil giant Chevron Corp. (CVX:93.75, -1.09, -1.1%) fell nearly 1.2% to $93.75 while No. 3 ConocoPhillips (COP:88.65, -0.32, -0.4%) slipped 0.4% to $88.65.
Profit-taking caught up with Hess Corp. (HES: 102.33, -2.07, -2.0%) , which led percentage decliners in the group with a 2% drop to $102.33, snapping the stock's three-day winning streak. Today's setback aside, Hess shares are up a whopping 110% for the year, with over half of that gain seen in the past month. Shares of European oil giants fared better. Anglo-Dutch Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA:84.41, +0.61, +0.7%) led the few percentage gainers in the group, up 0.7% at $84.41. The company announced it was taking a 55% stake in a coalbed methane venture in China's Shanxi Province.
London-based BP Plc (BP:74.03, +0.37, +0.5%) also managed to post a gain, up 0.5% at $74.03, and France's Total S.A. (TOT:82.08, +0.24, +0.3%) rose 0.3% to $82.08.
Via: MarketWatch|by Jim Jelter| read more | digg story
No comments:
Post a Comment