By William Watts and Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch Retailers jump as
holiday shopping season gets under way
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks are mixed, with energy
shares under heavy pressure after the Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries sent oil prices skidding, while airlines and
retailers rejoiced.
The S&P 500 (SPX) edged to a record intraday high but soon
pulled back to trade down 3.87 points at 2,068.96. The Dow Jones
Industrial Average (DJI) clung to a 0.1% gain at 17,851.97, leaving
it on track for another record close. The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF)
rose 0.2% to 4,796.61.
U.S. markets were closed Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday.
U.S. stock and bond trading close early on Friday.
"With Black Friday upon us, investors are in the mood for some
early festive cheer. However, as November draws to a close
investors will reflect on what has been a difficult month with
falling oil prices and artificially inflated equities on the
promise of more central bank intervention," said Mike McCudden,
head of derivatives at Interactive Investor in London.
Crude oil for January (CLF5) shaved off more than $4 from
Wednesday's settlement price to trade at $69.44 a barrel after
hitting its lowest point in more than 4 1/2 years. U.S. crude oil
didn't settle on Thursday due to Thanksgiving, but OPEC's decision
to maintain its current production ceiling of 30 million barrels a
day does little to remove the glut that is keeping oil prices
low.
Among major stock movers, Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) lost 3.4%,
while fellow Dow component Chevron Corp. (CVX) dropped more than
5%.
Among other energy shares, Transocean Ltd. (RIG) sank 8.3%,
ConocoPhillips (COP) fell 5.8% and Halliburton Co. (HAL) erased
more than 10% of its value.
In Europe, the picture was the same, with oil heavyweights such
as BP PLC (BP) and Total SA (TOT) posting big losses..
On the flip side, transportation companies were getting a lift
from the prospect of lower energy prices. Delta Air Lines Inc.
(DAL) surged 5.1%, Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) rose 6.5% and
Carnival Corp. (CCL) added 4.5%.
No major earnings reports or data releases were expected on
Friday, and U.S. markets, in addition to the early closes, are
expected to see a light post-Thanksgiving session.
Leading up to the holiday, the S&P 500 (SPX) and Dow Jones
Industrial Average (DJI) scored their 47th and 30th record closes
this year, respectively, on Wednesday.
Black Friday frenzy: Retailers were in the spotlight during
early Friday, as shops opened the doors for their annual Black
Friday sales (with some having opened late Thursday). Wal-Mart
Stores Inc. (WMT) advanced 3.3%, Amazon.com (AMZN) rose 2% Macy's
Inc. (M) added 2.4%, and Best Buy Co. (BBY) advanced 1.9%.
Wal-Mart reported early Friday that Thanksgiving Day delivered
its second-highest online sales day ever, topped only by Cyber
Monday last year.
Other markets: European stocks were mired in the red, with
energy companies pulling the major benchmarks lower. Asian markets
closed mostly higher.
Metals prices (GCG5) showed weakness, hurt by a rise in the
dollar (DXY).
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