eNergy STOCKS: Oil and gas stocks notched solid gains Tuesday, sustaining a rally built on crude-oil futures' run back above the $100 mark

At the close, the Amex Oil Index (XOI:1,414.11, +37.24, +2.7%) was up 2.7% at 1,414 points, backing down slightly from an intraday high of 1,425, with all 13 components finishing in the plus column. The Amex Natural Gas Index (XNG:587.77, +13.48, +2.4%) rose 2.4% to 587.8 points and the Philadelphia Oil Service Index advanced 2.4% to 277.

Big independent oil companies were the top beneficiaries of the rally. Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY:75.06, +3.34, +4.7%) led percentage gainers in the Amex Oil group, up 4.7% to close at $75.06 a share while Hess Corp. (HES:94.09, +3.44, +3.8%) rose 3.8% to $94.09.

Refiners, typically hurt by surging oil prices, were also among the top performers as investors bet that the volume of gasoline being stored ahead of the summer driving season might not match actual demand. In such a scenario, refining margins might be able to outpace the rising price refiners have to pay for crude. Shares of Valero Energy Corp. (VLO:60.66, +2.29, +3.9%) , the country's biggest independent refiner, rose 3.9% to $60.66. Sunoco Inc. (SUN:63.14, +1.83, +3.0%) shares rose 3% to $63.14.

ExxonMobil Corp. (XOM:87.01, +1.64, +1.9%) , one of the 30 companies making up the Dow Jones Industrial Average, added 1.9% to end at $87.01 after touching an intraday high of $87.97. Chevron Corp. (CVX:84.83, +1.23, +1.5%) , the No. 2 U.S. oil company after ExxonMobil, rose 1.5% to $84.83 a share while No. 3 ConocoPhillips (COP:80.64, +1.59, +2.0%) rose 2% to $80.64.

Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI:69.67, +2.78, +4.2%) and Cameron International Corp. (CAM:43.08, +1.72, +4.2%) led gainers in the oil services group, both up 4.2% to close at $69.67 and $43.08 a share, respectively. XTO Energy (XTO: 57.72, +2.43, +4.4%) led the charge in the natural gas index, up 4.4% to $57.72.

The broad-based rally in energy stocks was spurred by sharply higher crude-oil prices. Crude for March delivery briefly shot as high as $100.06 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, finishing the session at $100.01, the first time the front month closed above the century mark. Energy traders' concerns that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries might trim output levels at its March 5 meeting, cold weather in much of the country and an emergency shutdown at a small refinery in Texas all contributed to the strongly bullish sentiment on the Nymex.

Alon USA Energy (ALJ:17.26, -0.98, -5.4%) reported an explosion shut its 70,000 barrel-per-day Big Spring refinery in western Texas. Alon, majority owned by Alon Israel, Oil Co., markets gasoline and diesel under the Fina brand.

North American Energy Partners (NOA:15.55, +1.26, +8.8%) saw its shares jump 8.8% to $15.55 on strong fiscal third-quarter earnings and a positive research note from Credit Suisse. The brokerage said the company's latest results reflected "strong operational execution across all ... segments."

Credit Suisse kept an outperform rating on the Canadian company, which has a strong presence in the country's oil sands sector - a corner of the market that looks increasingly attractive in the face of soaring global crude prices.

Source: MarketWatch|by Jim Jelter