MW: Energy stocks decline with broad market, crude oil
By Steve Gelsi, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- -- Energy stocks slip along with the broad market Thursday, as crude prices fell and investors shrugged off a slight gain in natural-gas prices.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA 10,654, -26.79, -0.25%) fell 43 points in early trading. Shares of Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM 62.01, -0.71, -1.13%) and Chevron Corp. (CVX 78.78, -0.24, -0.30%) , both components of the Dow industrials, dipped 1% and 0.9%, respectively.
The NYSE Arca Oil Index (XOI 1,024, -0.59, -0.06%) dropped 0.7%. The NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index (XNG 536.15, -0.50, -0.09%) fell 1%, and the Philadelphia Oil Service Index (OSX 189.58, -0.60, -0.32%) lost 0.6%.
Crude prices declined 0.9% to $81.74 a barrel, while natural gas futures advanced fractionally to $4.77 per thousand British thermal units.
Bucking the downward trend, shares of Transocean Ltd. (RIG 56.94, +3.38, +6.31%) rose 5.6%. The operator of deepwater drilling rigs said in a filing that its contract with BP PLC (BP 40.26, +0.87, +2.21%) could help protect it from lawsuits, claims for damage in the Deepwater Horizon accident and billions in fines.
