BP (BP), Chevron (CVX), Exxon (XOM) Jump on Rising Oil Prices, Instability

Shares of giant energy companies like BP (NYSE:BP), Chevron (NYSE:CVX), Exxon (NYSE:XOM) are again getting a big boost on uncertainties in the middle east and the probability of oil prices rising even higher.

U.S. stocks fell, extending losses a day after the biggest decline in six months for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, as oil prices surged and Hewlett-Packard Co.’s profit and sales forecasts trailed analysts’ estimates.

Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), the world’s largest computer maker, tumbled 11 percent after blaming its disappointing forecasts on sluggish demand for services and consumer products. Ford Motor Co. slumped 2.7 percent after announcing it will recall 144,000 F-150 pickup trucks. Chevron Corp. and Exxon Mobil Corp. gained at least 2 percent as crude oil rose to a 28-month high.

The S&P 500 dropped 0.3 percent to 1,311.16 as of 11:30 a.m. in New York. The index sank 2.1 percent yesterday amid escalating violence in Libya. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 51.20 points, or 0.4 percent, to 12,161.59 today.

“People are always looking forward and that’s why they are reacting negatively to the spike in oil prices,” Michael Holland, who oversees more than $4 billion as chairman of Holland & Co. in New York. “Higher crude prices may challenge the outlook for economic growth. So, even as we have better- than-estimated earnings and economic figures in the U.S., those are sort of looking at the rear-view mirror.”






Rest of Story