NEWS

[ENERGY STOCKS] The stocks rise with broad market

2008-05-22T16:44:00.002+02:00

Shares of natural gas, oil producers and oil services companies rose Thursday, with oil prices falling back from a fresh record above $135 a barrel and the broad market advancing.

The Amex Oil Index (XOI: 1,626.49, +1.20, +0.1%) rose 0.4% to 1,632. The Amex Natural Gas Index (XNG: 729.15, -2.73, -0.4%) rose 0.4% to 735. The Philadelphia Oil Services Index ($OSX: 341.43, -3.68, -1.1%) rose 0.5% to 347. Sector leader ExxonMobil (XOM: 93.04, -0.63, -0.7%) rose 22 cents to $93.89.

Crude prices rose 65 cents to $133.82, but traded lower than the new record of $135.09 set earlier in the day. See Futures Movers. The Wall Street Journal reported the IEA is attempting to assess the condition of the world's top 400 oil fields. Its findings won't be released until November, but it is clear that future crude supplies could be far tighter than previously thought, the report notes.

The IEA has predicted previously that supplies of crude and other liquid fuels will keep pace with rising demand, topping 116 million barrels a day by 2030, up from around 87 million barrels a day currently, according to the report, which added that the agency now is concerned that aging oil fields and diminished investment mean that companies could struggle to surpass 100 million barrels a day over the next two decades.

Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA: 87.11, -0.21, -0.2%) was upgraded to buy from hold at ING, which also lifted its oil price estimates to $115 a barrel this year and next, up 21% and 44% from an earlier view, and its oil view for the long term by 50% to $90 a barrel.

StatoilHydro (STO: 42.70, +1.60, +3.9%) was upped to hold from sell. "The market continues to ignore fundamentals," the broker said. "Instead, forward curves assume straight-line demand growth with no substitution, efficiency gain or high price economic offsets. The market also sees only a limited supply-side response at best. While we remain cautious of the speculative support in prices, and the daily trading of up to six times daily oil demand, our view on oil industry cycles or medium-term supply/demand elasticity is unlikely to affect momentum."

Shares of Royal Dutch Shell fell 23 cents to $87.09. Statoil rose 4.5% to $42.94. Among coal shares, Alpha Natural (ANR: 73.00, +1.33, +1.9%) rose 3% to $73.82. Merrill Lynch upgraded the stock to buy from neutral.

Source: MarketWatch|by Steve Gelsi

[ENERGY STOCKS] Oil producers rise as crude sets fresh record of $129 a barrel

2008-05-22T12:12:00.009+02:00

Chevron pushed to an all-time high for its fourth straight session as part of a bevy of energy stocks moving into new territory Tuesday, with the shares of petroleum producers moving up on the heels of a new record price for crude.

The energy sector shrugged off deep losses in the broad market and followed the price of crude into the green. Hedge fund manager and Texas oil man T. Boone Pickens predicted $150 a barrel oil this year on CNBC-TV, adding further fuel to petroleum bulls. June oil futures settled at a record close of $129.07 a barrel, up $2.02, as they expired on the New York Mercantile Exchange. During the session, the contract set an intraday high of $129.60 a barrel. On Wednesday, July futures begin to trade.

The Amex Oil Index (XOI:1,625.29, -4.80, -0.3%) rose 1% to 1,630, a record level. Hess Cop. (HES:130.78, -3.02, -2.3%) rose 2.4% to $133.80 and Occidental Petroleum (OXY:96.45, -1.40, -1.4%) advanced 2.5% to $97.85 as leading gainers from the group. The Amex Natural Gas Index (XNG: 731.88, -9.36, -1.3%) rose 1.2% to 742. The Philadelphia Oil Service Index rose 0.7% to 351.

Chevron Corp. (CVX:103.02, -0.07, -0.1%) rose 89 cents to $103.09. Earlier, the stock, which is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($DJ:2,601.19, -227.49, -1.8%) , touched $103.25 a share for its fourth straight day of all-time highs.

Several other energy companies hit 52-week highs on Tuesday including Continental Resources (CLR:60.19, -2.65, -4.2%) , which soared 23% to $62.84 after the Enid, Okla. company said it was pleased with the results of its first well drilling in the North Dakota Bakken Shale area.

Other 52-week highs include: Arena Resources (ARD:53.32, -1.85, -3.3%) , up 8% to $55.17, Forest Oil Corp. (FST:67.20, -2.01, -2.9%) , up 4% to $69.21, Suncor Energy Inc. (SU:143.84, -2.06, -1.4%) , up 5% to $145.90 and Enbridge Inc. (ENB:45.65, -0.02, 0.0%) , up 3% to $45.67.

Ensco International (ESV:74.11, -1.92, -2.5%) rose 3% to $76.03, a new 52-week high, as well as Unit Corp. (UNT:76.50, -2.07, -2.6%) , up 3% to $78.57, and Encana Corp. (ECA:95.09, -1.80, -1.9%) , up 2% to $96.89.

Soleil Securities analyst Jacques H. Rousseau said in a note to clients that refiners' share prices have fallen about 50% since the middle of last year, compared to a 7% decline in the S&P 500 on weak demand for gasoline. "We don't envision conditions deteriorating from these levels as refiners have reduced supply to be more in line with lower demand," Rousseau said.

Of the group, however, Tesoro's (TSO:24.27, -1.40, -5.4%) share price has the most potential downside from current levels and Frontier Oil (FTO:27.93, +0.67, +2.5%) has the least, he said. Tesoro rose 2 cents to $25.67. Frontier Oil fell 2% to $27.26.

Among energy shares in the spotlight, ExxonMobil (XOM: 93.67, -0.89, -0.9%) agreed to a $2 billion loan to help revive existing projects that have been held back by funding delays in Nigeria. The money will help Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation fund its portion of a joint venture with ExxonMobil this year. ExxonMobil stock rose 20 cents to $94.56.

And NorthWestern Corp. (NWE:25.25, +0.17, +0.7%) rose 3% to $25.08 as it debuted on the New York Stock Exchange after trading on the Nasdaq.

Among alternative energy shares, China Sunergy Co. Ltd. (CSUN:12.39, -0.34, -2.7%) fell 2.5% to $12.73. The company said its first-quarter net income fell to $545,000, or 1 cent a share, from $2.25 million, or 17 cents a share, in the year-ago period. The Nanjing, China, solar cell manufacturer's sales rose 32% to $77 million from $58.2 million a year earlier. Ethanol maker Aventine Rewable Energy (AVR:5.35, -0.57, -9.6%) fell 2% to $5.92 on the heels of a 25% rally in the previous session.

Source: MarketWatch|by Steve Gelsi

[ENERGY STOCKS] Energy shares rise on drop in inventories

2008-05-21T19:25:00.002+02:00

Energy stocks moved higher Wednesday as oil topped $132 a barrel for the first time on an unexpected draw down in petroleum supplies.

Phil Flynn of Alaron Trading cited supply problems from the Gulf of Mexico as fueling the latest record run in oil prices, as investors dive into the commodity to flee a falling dollar and turmoil in the financial sector. Bullish sentiment is outweighing the laws of supply and demand as traders look toward $135 a barrel as the next possible point of resistance.

The Amex Oil Index (XOI: 1,660.15, +30.06, +1.8%) rose 1.3% to 1,651. Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA: 88.40, +3.22, +3.8%) led gains among oil producers with a rise of 3.6% to $88.21. Gains accelerated after fresh data showing crude supplies falling by 5.4 million barrels to 320.4 million for the week ended May 16, according to the Energy Department Wednesday. Supplies had climbed over 12 million barrels in four weeks. Refinery utilization rose to 87.9 % of capacity from 86.6% a week ago. Following the news, July crude topped $132 a barrel for the first time.

The Amex Natural Gas Index (XNG: 749.05, +7.81, +1.1%) rose 0.5% to 745, cooling from an earlier rise of 1%. The Philadelphia Oil Service Index ($OSX: 355.01, +4.28, +1.2%) rose 0.6% to 353. National Oilwell Varco (NOV: 86.55, +5.68, +7.0%) jumped 5.3% to $85.16. Meanwhile, average U.S. retail gasoline prices continued their move into record territory on Wednesday, with a rise of a penny to $3.81 a gallon for regular unleaded, according to the Daily Fuel Gauge Report from AAA. A month ago, the average price was $3.50 a gallon and a year ago it was $3.21 a gallon.

Among movers, PETROBRAS (PBR: 76.86, +2.75, +3.7%) rose 3.2% to $76.46. On Tuesday, the company said it plans to contract 40 drilling ships and platforms to operate in deep and ultra-deep waters by 2017.

Chesapeake (CHK: 56.73, -0.53, -0.9%) fell 1.3% to $56.53 after it priced its offering of $1.2 billion of contingent convertible senior notes. The company upped the size of the deal from $500 million. The natural gas producer also announced that it priced $800 million of 7.25% senior notes.

Source: MarketWatch| by Steve Gelsi

[ENERGY STOCKS] The petroprices and the earnings lift producers

2008-05-08T00:23:00.009+02:00

Energy stocks moved higher Tuesday as crude prices remained in record territory and strong profit growth from Anadarko Petroleum and others provided a lift.

The Amex Oil Index (XOI: 1,514.80, -21.30, -1.4%) rose 2.3% to 1,536. The Amex Natural Gas Index (XNG: 698.57, -6.27, -0.9%) advanced 3.3% to 705. The Philadelphia Oil Service Index ($OSX: 320.86, -3.04, -0.9%) rose 2.4% to 324. Crude futures settled at $121.84 a barrel, up $1.87, or 1.6%, after setting a fresh all-time high of $122.73. Goldman Sachs analysts said prices are more likely to rise to the $150-$200 a barrel level within the next six to 24 months.

"We believe the current energy crisis may be coming to a head, as a lack of adequate supply growth is becoming apparent," said analysts at Goldman in a report.

Investors also digested several analyst actions. Hess Corp. (HES: 112.79, -4.07, -3.5%) rallied 8% to $116.86 after it received an upgrade to buy from neutral at Goldman Sachs. Goldman also downgraded Petrochina Co. Ltd. (PTR: 145.03, -11.70, -7.5%) to sell from buy. U.S.-listed shares in the Chinese oil company rose 46 cents to $156.73.

J.P. Morgan reduced its ratings on refiner Valero Energy (VLO: 47.61, -0.19, -0.4%) to neutral from overweight, and cut Sunoco (SUN: 44.63, -0.04, -0.1%) to underweight from neutral. Shares of Valero fell 3% to $47.90. Sunoco dropped 4% to $44.97.

Earnings lift
Among the many companies providing first-quarter profit updates, Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC: 76.68, +2.15, +2.9%) shares rallied 9.4% to $74.53 after it said first-quarter net income fell to $286 million, or 61 cents a share, compared with $1.72 billion, or $3.70 a share, a year ago. First-quarter income from continuing operations totaled $237 million, or 50 cents a share. Results from the year-ago quarter were inflated by nearly $1.7 billion in gains from asset sales.

Revenue for the three months ended March 31 fell to $2.98 billion from $5.25 billion.
Analysts polled by FactSet had predicted the Houston-based oil and gas producer would earn $1.20 a share on $3.08 billion in revenue. During the session, Anadarko hit a new 52-week high of $75.87, easily eclipsing the old mark of $71.12 on April 22.

Spectra Energy (SE: 26.03, -0.67, -2.5%) shares rose 3.3% to $26.70 after it announced a stock buyback, dividend boost, and a 56% jump in first-quarter profit. See full story.

W&T Offshore Inc. (WTI: 46.97, +1.62, +3.6%) rallied 6.3% to $45.35 after it said first-quarter net income soared to $79.8 million, or $1.05 a share, from $13 million, or 17 cents, a year ago, helped by a higher realized commodity prices. Excluding unrealized derivative losses, W&T posted income of $83.9 million, or $1.10 a share. The Houston oil and natural gas company said revenue increased 45% to $356.6 million from $246.5 million. On average, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected per-share earnings of 90 cents on revenue of $316.5 million.

Parker Drilling Co. (PKD: 7.96, -0.28, -3.4%) fell 1% to $8.24 after it said its first-quarter net income fell to $23.9 million, or 21 cents a share, from $30 million, or 27 cents a share in the year-ago period. The Houston-based drilling contractor said total drilling and rental revenues rose to $173.3 million from $151.3 million last year. Analysts polled by FactSet Research were looking for earnings of 18 cents a share on sales of $180.6 million. Parker Drilling said higher day rates and utilization in its overseas segment partially offset an expected softening in the U.S. barge-rig market.

Cimarex Energy Co. (XEC: 67.24, -0.74, -1.1%) , the Denver oil-and-gas producer, reported first-quarter net income more than doubled on 55% higher revenue. Earnings reached $149.8 million, or $1.76 a share, from $64.6 million, or 77 cents, in the year-earlier period. Revenue rose to $477.1 million from $306.9 million. More production -- an average of 8% more oil and gas daily -- and higher prices drove the improved results, Cimarex said. Cimarex shares rose 7.3% to $67.98.

In the alternative energy arena, Suntech Power (STP: 43.69, -0.61, -1.4%) jumped 6% to $44.30 after Jesup & Lamont analyst Brian C. Yerger initiated coverage of the solar panel manufacturer with a buy rating and a target price of $64 a share.

"Suntech has established a leading position in the rapidly growing solar manufacturing industry and continues to expand capacity," Yerger said in a note to clients. "As the clear leader in the Chinese solar group, we believe a premium valuation is warranted and recommend purchasing shares...as the company should continue to display strong top and bottom line growth."

ExxonMobil (XOM 88.82, -1.25, -1.4%) said it would spend $100 million to complete development and testing of an improved natural gas treating technology which could make carbon capture and storage more affordable and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The oil giant plans to build a commercial demonstration plant near LaBarge, Wyoming. ExxonMobil shares rose 56 cents to $90.07.

SOURCE: MarketWatch|by Steve Gelsi

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

2008-02-20T13:21:00.007+01:00

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

EUROPE: Stocks in Europe end with sharp losses

2008-02-16T13:04:00.000+01:00

Stocks in Europe ended sharply lower on Friday, as worries about the health of banks combined with poor U.S. economic data to send shares lower and largely wipe out the week's gains.

The pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index dropped 2% to end at 317.36, with banks in particular dropping, but all sectors in negative territory after U.S. data showed an increase in import prices and a big downturn in New York-area manufacturing activity.

UBS (UBS:33.14, -0.80, -2.4%) shares dropped for a second day, losing 6.6% to end at lows not seen since April 2003. Citigroup analysts said that they believe the group might need to write off another 12 billion Swiss francs ($10.9 billion) to 20 billion Swiss francs in 2008 due to bigger-than-expected Alt-A mortgage exposure and other positions.

"We continue to recommend an underweight stance on the European investment banks (due to) fears on revenue outlooks and balance sheet stretch as well as markdowns," said banking analyst Jeremy Sigee. French bank Natixis slid 10.7%, hitting their lowest level in over three years, after the firm announced a surprise 1.2 billion euro ($1.75 billion) write-down on its exposure to subprime mortgages and bond insurers.

Peer Credit Agricole dropped 5.3% as Credit Suisse analysts estimated the bank may have to increase its write-downs from subprime and the bond insurance difficulties to 4.5 billion euros from 2.9 billion euros.

Also, shares in Bank of Ireland (IRE:55.96, +0.06, +0.1%) slipped 2% as the firm said that, although its trading performance is broadly in line with management expectations, continuing volatility in markets is impacting financial performance and the outcome for the year is subject to change.

"I think that the bottom line is that financial (sector) news flow is showing no signs of improving. It's going to be a few months before we're out of the woods," said Tim Scholefield, head of equities at Barings Asset Management in London.

The U.K. FTSE 100 index dropped 1.6% to 5,787.60, the French CAC-40 index fell 1.8% to 4,771.79 and the German DAX 30 index dipped 1.9% to 6,832.43. Barings' Scholefield said that he's expecting trading to stay in a range in the short term, as news-flow limits upside. However, he also noted that shares prices have already fallen significantly and that the market is not expensive. "There is some support in valuation terms, but we need the clouds to lift," he said.

Source: MarketWatch | by Sarah Turner

STOCKS: Energy stocks rose Wednesday as the sector took its cue from an upswing in oil prices on lower-than-expected petroleum inventories

2008-02-14T06:25:00.002+01:00

Strong results from Coca-Cola (KO:59.39, -0.53, -0.9%) and healthy retail sales, boosted by the gasoline business, stoked buying in the energy patch. ExxonMobil (XOM:85.49, +1.11, +1.3%) accelerated earlier gains, rising 1.3% to $85.49 as Wall Street shrugged off a move by Venezuela to cut off oil sales to the company, except to a jointly owned refinery in Louisiana.

The Amex Oil Index (XOI:1,378.61, +25.78, +1.9%) rose nearly 2% to 1,365, with Marathon Oil (MRO:50.61, +1.26, +2.6%) , Valero (VLO:59.20, +1.51, +2.6%) , Occidental Petroleum (OXY:70.13, +1.92, +2.8%) , and ConocoPhillips (COP:78.65, +2.25, +3.0%) all up about 3%.

The Amex Natural Gas Index (XNG:582.15, +10.03, +1.8%) advanced 1.8% to 582, with Apache (APA:108.22, +3.42, +3.3%) and Southwestern (SWN:63.40, +2.43, +4.0%) each up more than 3%. The Philadelphia Oil Service Index rallied 4.2% to 273, with Smith International (SII:61.27, +3.45, +6.0%) up 6% and National Oilwell Varco (NOV:63.90, +3.08, +5.1%) up 5%.

Crude prices changed course and rose 0.5% to $93.27 a barrel. U.S. crude inventories rose less than expected, up 1.1 million barrels to 301.1 million barrels in the week ending Feb. 8, U.S. Energy Information Administration reported.

Analysts surveyed by Platts expected a rise of 3.2 million barrels. Meanwhile, world crude supplies have been growing as economies slow down, according to the latest data from the International Energy Agency.

by Steve Gelsi
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UNITED STATES: Chevron to rejoin Dow industrials average

2008-02-12T09:09:00.001+01:00

Chevron Corp. rose as the oil giant was selected to rejoin the ranks of the 30 stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and crude jumped on a threat by Venezuela to cut off oil exports to the U.S. on Monday.

Natural gas stocks and oil services share rallied as the energy sector caught Wall Street's attention. As Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez attempted to retaliate against ExxonMobil Corp.'s legal action to freeze $12 billion in his country's assets, oil futures rose $1.82, or 2%, to close at $93.59 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Chevron (CVX:80.43, +1.17, +1.5%) rose 1.5% to close at $80.43, ahead of its move to join ExxonMobil (XOM:83.22, +1.51, +1.9%) on Feb. 19 as the second energy company trading on the Dow.

Chevron was bumped from the Dow back in 1999 after a long stint dating back to 1930. In 1924 and 25 the company traded under the name Standard Oil Co. of California. Chevron officials could not be reached for comment. The Amex Oil Index (XOI:1,349.99, +18.79, +1.4%) advanced 1.4% to 1,350. Anadarko Petroleum (APC:58.74, +2.28, +4.0%) rallied 4% to $58.74 as the lading gainer from the group.

The Amex Natural Gas Index (XNG:574.71, +18.40, +3.3%) jumped 3.3% to 575 as a cold snap in the Northeast suggested higher short-term demand. Southwestern Energy (SWN:61.87, +3.80, +6.5%) and Chesapeake Energy (CHK:41.15, +2.51, +6.5%) each rose about 6.5%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Index rose 3.5% to 264. BJ Services (BJS:23.52, +1.45, +6.6%) rallied 6.6% and Weatherford (WFT:64.55, +3.32, +5.4%) rose about 5.4%.

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Among movers, ExxonMobil (XOM:83.22, +1.51, +1.9%) rose $1.51 to $83.2. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez threatened to cut off oil shipments to the United States if a court ruling goes forward ordering approximately $12 billion in Venezuelan assets frozen.

According to the Department of Energy, the United States is Venezuela's largest customer, importing about 1.4 million barrels of oil a day, noted Brian Niemiec of Susquehanna Financial.

"The move could potentially do more damage to the reputation of Venezuela and make more companies, or countries, wary of doing business with the oil rich nation," Niemiec said.

Plains All American Pipeline LP (50.99, +0.40, +0.8%) rose 40 cents to $50.99 after it said it's withdrawing a $400 million initial public offering for Plains GP Holdings L.P. The company said market conditions "have substantially deteriorated" since the IPO process began in August.

By Steve Gelsi
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