A 188-point spike by the Dow, a string of pleasant earnings surprises, firmer oil prices and a vow by Germany and France to defend the euro sent energy stocks higher Friday, leaving the sector with modest gains for the week.
Brazil’s Petrobras PBR led percentage gainers on the NYSE Arca Oil Index on a 4.7% advance to $20.47, followed by a 3.9% rise for shares of France’s Total SA TOT to $45.92.
Petrobras, along with other big oil producers, benefitted from a 74-cent rise in September crude-oil futures in New York, where a barrel of light, sweet crude closed at $90.13. See the latest on crude-oil prices.
Total rallied early Friday following French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s vow to do “everything possible to protect the euro zone.”
Their comments, aimed at bolstering confidence in the euro, spurred a 188-point surge by the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA to 13,056 points, the first time the index had topped the 13,000-mark since May.
The NYSE Arca Oil Index XOI closed 1.4% higher at 1,207.51 points, finishing the week with a 0.9% gain.
Chevron Corp. CVX, a Dow component and the second-biggest U.S.-based oil company after Exxon Mobil XOM , reported its second-quarter profit fell 6.8% to $3.66 a share, pressured by a double-digit drop in its exploration and production operations. See Chevron’s latest results.
Chevron’s results topped the $3.24 a share Wall Street analysts had expected, and while the stock it struggled early in the session, it finished with a 0.9% gain at $109.26, three dollars shy of its 52-week high in March.
Arch Coal Inc. ACI shares rocketed 29% to $6.80 after reporting a much narrower second-quarter loss than feared. Wall Street analysts had predicted Arch would lose 18 cents a share in the quarter. The company surprised them with a 10-cent per-share loss. Read about Arch Coal’s second quarter.
Wholesale power generator Calpine Corp. CPN turned in a second-quarter loss of 69 cents a share, deepening its year-ago loss of 14 cents a share. Analysts had expected the company to break even in the latest quarter. Calpine shares nevertheless managed to eke out a 1.4% gain for the day, closing at $17.87, as analysts focused on the competitive cost advantages of its natural gas-fired fleet of power plants, especially in the western states. Read about Calpine’s loss.
Elsewhere in the energy patch, the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index XNG rose 1.5% to 645.3 points, leaving it with a 1.4% gain for the week.
The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index OSX rose 2.7% Friday to 225.1 points, good for a 4% advance for the week.
Marketwatch
