even as oil-related stocks moved into the red along with the price of oil futures on Tuesday.
The Amex Oil Index (XOI : 1,481.93, -7.13, -0.5% ) fell 0.5%, while the Philadelphia Oil Service Index ($OSX : 270.61, -1.10, -0.4% ) gave up 0.7%. Both indexes posted gains earlier in the session as oil futures rose above $75 only to fall in afternoon trades to below $74 a barrel.
The Amex Natural Gas Index (XNG : 521.30, +8.36, +1.6% ) rose 1.4% to 520. The index got a lift from Plains Exploration & Production Co.'s (PXP : 48.44, -2.75, -5.4% ) cash-and-stock buyout offer for Pogo Producing Co.
The Amex Natural Gas Index (XNG : 521.30, +8.36, +1.6% ) rose 1.4% to 520. The index got a lift from Plains Exploration & Production Co.'s (PXP : 48.44, -2.75, -5.4% ) cash-and-stock buyout offer for Pogo Producing Co.
Pogo (PPP :57.50, +7.02, +13.9% ) shares jumped 14% on the offer while Plains Exploration shares were off 5.5%.
Oil price cooled as traders eyed Wednesday data that's expected to show an improvement in U.S. refinery activity for last week, along with an increase in motor gasoline supplies.
Still the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries predicted that demand for oil from the producer group is likely to rise about 100,000 barrels a day to 31.1 million barrels a day by the fourth quarter. OPEC is not publicly discussing a move to boost output, prompting some analysts to predict that prices are headed even higher.
Most major oil companies rose earlier in the session only to move into the red.
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM :89.49, -0.21, -0.2% ) , one of the Dow 30 companies, fell 21 cents to $89.49.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI :14,021.38, +70.40, +0.5% ) hit a record early Tuesday past 14,000 points. Refiners Valero Energy Corp. (VLO :75.54, -0.54, -0.7% ) fell 62 cents to $75.46 and Sunoco Inc. (SUN :79.42, -2.90, -3.5% ) dropped 3.6% to $79.37.
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