OSX hits 4 month high. From CBS Marketwatch
cbs.marketwatch.com
<NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- A key index of oil-service stocks rose to its
highest level in over four months Wednesday on growing expectations
that OPEC oil producers will decide Friday to cut production by 1.5
million barrels per day even without full cooperation by nonmembers.
The Philadelphia Oil Service Index
(OSX: news, chart, profile) rose as
high as 89.85, its highest level since
early August. It closed at 89.41, up
3.8 percent.
Shares of Rowan Cos. (RDC: news,
chart, profile) tacked on 77 cents to
$19.70 and shares of Schlumberger
(SLB: news, chart, profile) added
$2.85 to stand at $55.95.
"Conventional wisdom has it that it is
practically a done deal," Fimat energy
analyst John Kilduff said in a daily
note, referring to market expectations
for an OPEC decision Friday to cut
1.5 million barrels from the world
market.
"Even though the non-OPEC
producers came up short of the
500,000 barrels per day that OPEC
wanted from then, their efforts brought
them close enough so that non on e
expects the cartel to quibble," he
said. Non-OPEC producers have so far pledged to cut about 462,500 barrels per
day.
Kilduff expects that by Friday's special meeting of OPEC leaders in Cairo, oil
producers would have agreed to cut amounting to almost 2 million barrels per
day including non-OPEC oil producers.
Still, some reports this week indicated that the cartel may delay production cuts
until Feb. 1, instead of Jan. 1 as previously thought, according to Jeff Mokychic,
head analyst at BridgetonGlobal.com.
Integrated oil stocks were also higher, with the CBOE Oil Index ($OIX: news,
chart, profile) at 300.2, up 1.3 percent from the previous session. ChevronTexaco
(CVX: news, chart, profile) rose 65 cents to $89.20 and ExxonMobil (XOM:
news, chart, profile) tacked on 60 cents to $39.60.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude for February delivery rose to an
intraday high at $21.43 a barrel, its highest level in six weeks. It closed at
$21.27, up $1.65, or 8.6 percent. See Futures Movers.
Energy-stocks mostly higher
Shares of most energy-related shares closed higher Wednesday, with Enron as
the most actively traded stock.
Shares of Enron (ENE: news, chart, profile) closed unchanged from the previous
session at 65 cents on volume of 32 million shares. The stock jumped 21
percent on Monday after it was reported that Citigroup (C: news, chart, profile) is
ready to finalize a bid to buy Enron's energy-trading unit ahead of the company's
planned auction of the operation. See full story.
Shares of one-time Enron suitor Dynegy (DYN: news, chart, profile) also closed
flat at $24.38.
Among energy stocks closing higher: shares of Calpine (CPN: news, chart,
profile) settled up 47 cents at $16; El Paso Corp. (EPG: news, chart, profile)
climbed by 90 cents to $45;; Reliant Resources (RRI: news, chart, profile) rose
14 cents to $15.89; and Williams Cos. (WMB: news, chart, profile) climbed by
94 cents to $24.19.
Mirant (MIR: news, chart, profile) shares fell 15 cents to $14.55 after an earlier
rise to a high at $15.08.> |
