Energy stocks tumbled Friday on the heels of a worse-than-expected monthly U.S. jobs report sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average skidding 256 points and kicked the legs out from underneath crude-oil prices. Crude for February delivery fell $1.27 to close at $97.91 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The benchmark contract breached the $100 level during each of the past two sessions. See Futures Movers.
Energy shares fell along with the broader market on the heels of the lower-than-expected growth in U.S. non-farm payrolls for December jobs - more evidence of a weakening economy -- and Thursday's victories for Sen. Barack Obama and former governor Mike Huckabee in the Iowa caucuses.
Energy shares fell along with the broader market on the heels of the lower-than-expected growth in U.S. non-farm payrolls for December jobs - more evidence of a weakening economy -- and Thursday's victories for Sen. Barack Obama and former governor Mike Huckabee in the Iowa caucuses.
UBS strategist Thomas Doerflinger weighed in as an early entrant in Wall Street's parlor game on the impact of the presidential election. In a note to clients Friday, Doerflinger said a Democratic win in November could be a negative for major oil and coal companies but a positive for natural-gas providers. It could also be a negative for coal-based utilities.
By the end of the day, the Amex Oil Index (XOI:1,525.45, -40.49, -2.6%) was down 2.6% at 1,525 points, pulled down by a 4.6% retreat by Hess Corp. (HES:93.35, -4.52, -4.6%) to $93.35 and a 4.2% drop by Anadarko Petroleum to $63.96. ConocoPhillips (COP:85.56, -2.69, -3.0%) , Valero Energy Corp. (VLO:64.14, -2.29, -3.4%) , Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO:59.57, -2.31, -3.7%) and Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY:77.76, -2.75, -3.4%) all fell 3%. Occidental shares hit an all-time high in the previous session. Dow Jones Industrial Average component Exxon Mobil (XOM:92.08, -1.75, -1.9%) fell $1.75 to $92.08. For the holiday-shortened week, the Amex Oil Index was off 3.3%.
The Amex Natural Gas Index held a downward course through the session, ending with a 2.4% loss at 571.8 points. The Energy Information Administration reported natural-gas inventories in the U.S. declined by 87 billion cubic feet in the week ended Dec. 28, far less than the 157 billion cubic feet expected by analysts at energy research firm Global Insight.
The Philadelphia Oil Service Index gave up 3% to 302.7 points after rising in the two previous sessions. Fluor Corp. (FLR:147.26, -4.29, -2.8%) fell 2.8% to close at $147.26 after it announced a $1.6 billion contract with Marathon for engineering and construction at Marathon Oil's Detroit refinery.
Shares of Carrizo Oil & Co. Inc. (CRZO:52.70, -2.05, -3.7%) dropped 3.7% to $52.70. The exploration and production firm was downgraded to equal weight from overweight at Johnson Rice.
Atwood Oceanics Inc. (ATW:102.12, -2.65, -2.5%) saw its shares drop 2.5% to $102.12. The company announced a new contract with Chevron Corp. (CVX:93.35, -1.26, -1.3%) valued at $515 million. Bucking the sector trend, shares of PetroChina (PTR: 176.00, +5.36, +3.1%) rose 3.1% to $176. Goldman Sachs upgraded its rating to buy from neutral.
By Steve Gelsi | Read more | Digg story
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