ExxonMobil Corp. down 6.9% for the week, shares negative year-to-date
by Jasmina Kelemen
Oiland gas shares got caught in Wall Street's maelstrom registering sharplosses at the close Friday despite bullish commodity signals that keptoil prices aloft for most of the week.
The Amex Oil Index (XOI :1,122.03, -19.71, -1.7% ) fell 1.7% to 1,122 points, down 4.9% from last Friday's finish. In themeantime, crude prices clocked a slight gain as traders remainedencouraged by strong demand and falling U.S. supplies of oil products. See full story.
The Amex Natural Gas Index (XNG :446.43, -7.55, -1.7% ) fell 1.7% to 446.43 points, losing 3.5% for the week. The Philadelphia Oil Service Index ($OSX : 0.00, 0.00, 0.0% ) lopped off 1.6% to 195.16 points, losing 3.1% over the week.
U.S. stocks endured a brutal week as the Dow Jones Industrial Averagetook its largest weekly percentage decline since March 2003, with theJapanese yen's rally against the dollar and more bad news for mortgagelenders fueling investor anxiety. See full story.
Thisweek's sell-off was triggered by a one-day 9% decline in China'sShanghai stock market. The sharp decline fueled concerns thatexpectations of surging Asian economic growth and commodity demand wereoverdone, knocking the wind out of many of the energy sector's biggestnames.
Themajor oil companies continued to act as a drag on the oil index, takinga beating for their greater international exposure. Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM : 70.01, -0.98, -1.4% ) fell 1.4% to $70.01, dropping 6.9% over the week and erasing any gains this year.
