SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Oil and gas stocks, pounded in the previous session, caught a big lift Friday from bargain hunters swooping back into the sector and a modest uptick in oil prices.
Early action carried the Amex Oil Index as much as 4% higher to 940 points, taking much of the sting out of the index's 5.5% drop on Thursday.
Shares of refiner Valero Energy Corp were leading percentage gainers in the oil group, up 5% at $19.46. The stock fell 9.9% Thursday, opening the door to investors looking to pounce on the dips.
Among the Blue Chips, Exxon Mobil shares were up 4.3% at $72.51 and Chevron was ahead 3.6% at 72.64, helping to stoke a 200-point rally by the Dow Jones Industrial Average .
The Amex Natural Gas Index was up 4% at 425 points and the Philadelphia Oil Service Index was ahead 3.6% at 148 points. All components of both indexes were in the green, the reverse of Thursday's performance.
December crude-oil futures were up last up $1.34 at $62.11 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, rebounding from a steep 7% sell-off Thursday.
