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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