MW: Energy stocks face yet another grueling session
By Steve Gelsi, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Energy stocks faced one last grueling day of trades for the week Friday, with futures showing more losses even after the sector underperformed the historic slide in the broad market in recent days.
Energy stocks have fallen ever more deeply than the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 Oil and natural gas producers, as well as drilling services firms have been hit by a triple whammy of lower oil demand, falling crude prices and by the fact that they have further to fall after over performing earlier this year.
On Friday, crude prices retreated to a one-year low below $83, fueled by fears of a severe global economic downturn.
The Amex Oil Index of the Western oil majors finished out Thursday with a huge loss of 11% to 855, down about 50% from a year ago.
The carnage included the Amex Natural Gas Index , down 11% to 356. The Philadelphia Oil Service Index skidded 8.5% to 157.
Chevron said in its interim update it expects third-quarter earnings to exceed those of 2008's second quarter, but the nation's second-biggest oil company did not mention specifics. See full story.