Energy stocks recovered somewhat Wednesday after the Federal Reserve announced it would leave interest rates unchanged, bringing relief to a sector pounded earlier in the session by bearish fuel-inventory data from the Energy Department.
The Amex Oil Index (XOI :1,298.28, +0.22, +0.0% ) closed 0.02% higher after slipping more than 1% earlier. The Amex Natural Gas Index (XNG : 496.79, -1.24, -0.2% ) whittled down its loss to 0.3%, and the Philadelphia Oil Service Index ($OSX : 239.73, +1.04, +0.4% ) was in the black, up 0.4% from a loss of 1% at the open.
The rebound came hard on the heels of a unanimous decision by the Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee to leave the key federal-funds interest rate unchanged at 5.25%, a move widely anticipated in the financial markets. See full story.
The late-day rally offset the impact of a $1.26 drop in June crude-oil futures to $61 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The drop in crude prices was pinned to the Energy Information Administration's report of a 5.6-million-barrel rise in U.S. crude-oil inventories for the week ended May 4, the biggest jump since January and more than the 500,000-barrel rise most traders had expected. See Futures Movers.
More telling for the fuel market was a 400,000-barrel build in gasoline inventories last week, nearly twice what energy traders expected. It was the first build in gasoline stocks in 13 weeks, the EIA said. The June reformulated gasoline futures contract nevertheless rose 1.6%.
Refiner Sunoco Inc. (SUN : 74.89, -0.39, -0.5% ) led percentage declines in the oil group, closing down 0.5% at $74.89 but well off its low for the day of $73.19. Valero Energy Corp. led gainers in the group, up 0.6% at 74.13, while industry giant Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM : 81.42, +0.04, +0.0% ) rose 0.1% to $81.42, recovering from a tumble to $80.40.
Global Industries Ltd. (GLBL : 22.29, +0.19, +0.9% ) said four of its workers had been kidnapped from an offshore construction vessel in Nigeria as militant action against the oil industry continues to plague the region. Shares closed 0.9% higher at $22.29, swinging back from a low of $21.52.
