DuPont (DD), Chevron (CVX), Caterpillar (CAT), Exxon Mobil (XOM) Rebound on Easing Oil Prices

With oil prices easing at the trading session goes on, shares of DuPont (NYSE:DD), Chevron (NYSE:CVX), Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) and Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM), which got hit hard early in the day, have started to rebound as oil prices drop some.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up by 28 points, or 0.2%, at 12,242. The S&P 500 was lower by two-tenths of a point, or 0.02%, at 1322, and the Nasdaq was off by 9 points, or 0.3%, at 2757.

Oil prices reversed Wednesday as the April crude contract traded 28 cents lower at $104.74.Conflicts in Libya showed no signs of abating as Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi said the Libyan people would contest a no-fly zone in its airspace if one was imposed by Western powers.
Stocks have been taking their cues from oil prices this week, trading in opposition with crude futures as investors worry that high energy costs could derail the economic recovery.

UBS economist Andrew Cates recently said simulation models suggest that a sustained increase in oil prices of $10 a barrel could lower global GDP growth by as much as 0.3 percentage points after 12 months.

Cates said, "Higher commodity prices are impacting advanced economies at a time when household income growth remains subdued. This contrasts with many of the commodity-induced inflation jumps of the past - including in 2008 - when real income growth was stronger. The implication is that consumer confidence is vulnerable and some setbacks are possible if energy and food price pressures don't abate."

He expects oil and agricultural prices to decline in the next few months, "there is clearly some risk that commodity prices remain elevated for longer, added Cates.

Exxon was trading at $84.20, down $0.40, or 0.47 percent, as of 12:38 PM EST. Caterpillar was at $102.96, falling $1.17, or 1.12 percent. Dupont was trading at $53.58, down $0.68, or 1.25 percent. Chevron was trading at $102.43, falling $1.34, or 1.29 percent.




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