Ahmed,
<<The heavy weight are above their Nov 98 high, some are close and some are no anywhere near the NOV high.>>
It has been my opinion (sorry that I have no hard evidence to back it up) that some of those heavyweights have performed so well, at least in part, due to their inclusion in the S&P 100 and/or 500. Accordingly, they've received a healthy dose of index fund money. If the major indexes sell off, these issues, such as SLB and HAL, could fare worse than some other OSX issues. Of course, we all know that the major indexes never sell off. <g>
If only oil service sells off, I'd expect the heavyweights will fare pretty well relative to other OS issues. They are the most liquid, the most well known, and thus should attract plenty of interest from the large funds on any dips. During the OS crash, for example, SLB didn't fall nearly as much as most other issues -- I think about 50%.
It may be interesting to check the relative beta values for the OSX issues. Although this measures the volatility relative to the market and not to other stocks in the sector, it could give some indication as to stability. As you no doubt have noticed, some of the issues like SII and CAM run hard and fast in both directions. |
