By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch Airlines rally after oil-price slide

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Energy companies posted hefty losses in U.S. premarket trade on Friday after a decision Thursday from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to maintain its production target sent oil prices collapsing.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJZ4) dropped 29 points, or 0.2%, to 17,781, while those for the S&P 500 index (SPZ4) lost 3.70 points, or 0.2%, to 2,068.40. The Nasdaq 100 index (NDZ4) rose 4 points, or 0.1%, to 4,321.75.

U.S. markets were closed Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday.

The Dow average and the S&P were hit by a drop in big oil stocks and other and energy-related companies, which tracked oil futures sharply lower. Crude oil for January (CLF5) shaved off more than $5 on Wednesday's settlement price to trade at $68.54 a barrel, its lowest point in more than 4 1/2 years. Crude oil didn't settle on Thursday due to Thanksgiving, but OPEC's decision to maintain its current production ceiling of 30 million barrels a day does little to remove the glut that is keeping oil prices low.

Among major stock movers, Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) lost 4.5% ahead of the open, Chevron Corp. (CVX) dropped 4.1%, Transocean Ltd. (RIG) sank 8.5%, ConocoPhillips (COP) fell 5.1% and Halliburton Co. (HAL) erased 4.8%.

In Europe, the picture was the same, with oil heavyweights such as BP PLC (BP) and Total SA (TOT) down around 4%.

On the flip side, transportation companies were getting a lift from the prospect of lower energy prices. Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL) surged 8.1%, Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) rose 6.2% and Carnival Corp. (CCL) added 1.3%.

The moves, however, were seen in thin volumes. No major earnings report or data releases were expected on Friday, and U.S. markets will close early in what is expected to be a light post-Thankgiving session.

Leading up to the holiday, the S&P 500 (SPX) and Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) scored their 47th and 30th record closes this year, respectively, on Wednesday.

Black Friday frenzy: Retailers were in the spotlight during early Friday hours, as shops opened the doors for their annual Black Friday sales (and some opened late Thursday as well). Retail shares barely moved in premarket hours, but prominent companies such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT), Amazon.com (AMZN), Macy's Inc. (M) and Best Buy Co. (BBY) are worth watching later in the session.

Wal-Mart reported early Friday that Thanksgiving Day delivered the second-highest online sales day ever, topped only by Cyber Monday last year.

Other markets: European stocks were mired in the red, with particularly the energy companies pulling the major benchmarks lower. Asian markets closed mostly higher.

Metals prices (GCG5) showed weakness, hurt by a rise in the dollar (DXY).

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