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Energy Stocks

July 16, 2011 by · Comments Off on Energy Stocks 

Energy StocksEnergy Stocks, U.S. stocks closed higher on Friday as revenue leakage Google and other merger activity warning overshadowed the U.S. credit rating and a reading of depression in consumer confidence. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished 42.61 points, or 0.34% to 12479.73. The blue-chip index swung between positive and negative territory for most of the session before ending higher. Caterpillar was the biggest Dow, rising and 1.78, or 1.7%, to 109.36.

500 shares of Standard & Poor index rose 7.27 points, or 0.56%, to 1316.14. The energy sector was the biggest gainer, rising 2.3%, amid an increase in oil prices and some of the mergers and acquisitions activity

BHP Billiton of Australia has agreed to buy Petrohawk Energy in a deal valued at over and 15 million, including debt. Energy shares soared Petrohawk 14.68, or 62.49% to 38.17 on the news.

The technology oriented Nasdaq composite index rose 27.13 points, or 0.98%, to 2789.80, boosted by upbeat quarterly report from Google.

The giant Internet search late Thursday reported a surprisingly strong 36% jump in quarterly profit on record revenue. Google saw the strength of its core search business and gained momentum with their most recent operations, including its new Google social network +. The shares rose 68.68, or 13%, to 597.62.

Investor optimism withstood a late warning from Thursday, Standard $ Poor & in U.S. debt. The credit assessor said there is a 50% chance of reducing the AAA bond rating on U.S. debt in three months.

The threat of a possible downgrade comes as the debate on extending the debt limit has lasted longer than expected.

House Republicans said Friday he plans to vote next week on a proposal to raise the debt ceiling by $ 2.4 trillion and, with cuts of play and guidelines to control future spending.

“The wall of worry is still there,” said Brian Gendreau, market strategist at Grupo Financiero Cetera. “But M & A activity is reviving and income are providing an invisible source of market support.”

Financial stocks were among the worst losers in the S & P 500. Citigroup fell 1.9%, reversing a previous advance.

The Bank of second-quarter earnings rose 24%, but struggled to raise the incomes of many companies worldwide, reducing investor appetite for stocks.

JP Morgan was one of the worst performers in the Dow, falling 37 cents, or 0.9%, to 39.98, just a day after it reported a quarterly profit of income and a sharp rise of the banking operations investment.

“The finances are not doing much despite some decent reports this week,” said Todd Salamone, senior vice president of research Schaeffer Investment Research. “That’s the limitation of any attempt to demonstrate that we see.”

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