By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch Travel stocks gain as oil prices
march lower
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Oil- and gas-related stocks traded in
London extended losses Friday after an Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries decision not to reduce oil production.
The oil and gas group slid 2.8%, though it pared the decline by
the end of the session. The sector on Thursday tumbled 3.9% after
OPEC said it will maintain its current production target of 30
million barrels a day. There had been some speculation in the
markets ahead of OPEC's meeting in Vienna that the cartel would
reduce output, in an effort to stop a recent drop in global oil
prices.
U.S. crude-oil futures (CLF5) dropped to a more than four-year
low, a decline of nearly 9%, to trade just above $67 a barrel.
January Brent crude managed to turn slightly higher after
Thursday's session, during which Brent futures hit their lowest
since August 2010. Brent is the global oil benchmark.
Shares of BG Group tumbled 8.9%, logging the sharpest decline on
the benchmark FTSE 100 as they also recorded their biggest loss
since late January. The oil-exploration company is also dealing
with pushback from some shareholders over its pay-and-bonus package
plan for incoming chief executive Helge Lund.
Shares of Tullow Oil PLC were yanked 8.2% lower, and energy
engineering firm Weir Group PLC fell 4.1%. Oil major Royal Dutch
Shell PLC (RDSB) ended down 1.6% and BP PLC (BP) lost 1.2%.
The FTSE 100 ended down less than 1 point at 6,722.62, with
losses limited in part by gains among shares of travel companies,
which can be sensitive to oil prices. Cruise-ship operator Carnival
PLC topped the benchmark as they jumped 4.5%. TUI Travel PLC gained
2.6% and easyJet PLC tacked on 1.2%.
The FTSE 100 ended the week down 0.4% but closed November higher
by 2.7%, its best monthly run since April.
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