Lower weekly jobless claims, higher crude boost sector
By Steve Gelsi, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Energy stocks rose Thursday, leaving the sector poised to finish out the third quarter with healthy gains, as investors keyed on higher crude-oil prices and a bigger-than-expected drop in U.S. initial jobless claims for last week.
In energy trading, crude futures topped $79 a barrel, while in equities, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA 10,888, +52.30, +0.48%) rose 72 points.
Among energy-sector equity benchmarks, the NYSE Arca Oil Index (XOI 1,038, +10.19, +0.99%) scored the biggest early gains, up 1% to 1,039.
The NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index (XNG 531.88, +2.06, +0.39%) advanced 0.7% to 533, while the Philadelphia Oil Service Index (OSX 198.53, -0.54, -0.27%) edged up 0.1% to 199, after registering big gains in the previous session.
Weekly first-time jobless claims fell 16,000 to 453,000, better than expected. The four-week moving average of new claims also fell, down 6,250 to 458,000, the lowest level since late July.
Among stocks on the move, BP PLC (BP 40.85, +0.85, +2.12%) rose 2.4%, Baker Hughes (BHI 42.89, +0.78, +1.85%) added 2.2% and QEP Resources (QEP 30.72, +0.84, +2.80%) gained 1.6%. |
