In typical fashion, crude prices trade in a volatile manner following
the government's weekly energy data. Prices briefly dropped into
negative ground, before recovering to a gain of 0.2% at $119.35 per
barrel. The unexpected drop in crude stockpiles was partially offset
by a larger-than-expected decline in gasoline inventories.
The stock market falls to a fresh session low and then recovers a bit.
Financials (-2.0%) and consumer discretionary (-1.8%) are the main
laggards. The energy (+1.1%) and materials (+1.6%) sectors continue to
provide leadership, but have fallen off their session highs of 1.8% and
2.2%, respectively.
The materials sector is benefiting from a strong 8.8% advance in shares
of mining company Freeport McMoRan (FCX 85.94, +6.94). FCX was added to
Citigroup's Top Picks Live list, noting an attractive valuation. FCX
tumbled 22% during the last five sessions on concerns of decreasing
copper prices (+1.3%).
The energy sector is getting a boost from Devon Energy (DVN 91.16,
+2.26). The independent gas and oil company posted a 79%
year-over-year increase in earnings per share, which topped Wall
Street's expectations.