By Steve Gelsi, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Shares of petroleum and natural gas producers rose on Monday, but oil service shares fell as investors weighed a mild rise in the broad equities market against lower oil prices.
Buoyed by the end of Tropical Storm Bonnie and a rosier earnings forecast from FedEx, the NYSE Arca Oil Index (XOI 976.65, +6.79, +0.70%) rose 0.3% to 973. The NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index (XNG 522.07, +4.57, +0.88%) added 0.4% to 520. The Philadelphia Oil Service Index (OSX 178.59, -0.94, -0.52%) dipped 0.2% to 179.
Crude oil futures fell 11 cents to $78.87 after a big rise on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA 10,481, +56.61, +0.54%) rose 2 points.
Among stocks on the move, Apache Corp. (APA 94.54, +1.75, +1.89%) rose 1% and Schlumberger (SLB 58.35, -1.01, -1.69%) dipped 1.2%.
BP PLC (BP 38.10, +1.24, +3.36%) rose 2.7% on reports the company may soon replace CEO Tony Hayward. Managing Director Bob Dudley, already tapped to take over for Hayward to clean up the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, is seen as a possible successor. See: BP Board to meet on CEO job.
Among stocks in the spotlight, Oil and gas exploration company Delta Petroleum Corp. (DPTR 0.93, +0.13, +16.24%) agreed to sell various non-core assets to Wapiti Oil & Gas for $130 million.
The assets being sold include all of Delta's 31% working interest in the Garden Gulch field of the Piceance Basin in Colorado, as well as assets in Texas and the firm's stake in Piper Petroleum. The proceeds from the sale will be used to reduce the company's debt.
