Oil services stocks and sector-related exchange traded funds stumbled Friday after Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB) signaled continued pressure on oil and gas services companies.
On Friday, the Market Vectors Oil Service ETF (NYSEArca: OIH) fell 4.3%, iShares U.S. Oil Equipment & Services ETF (NYSEArca: IEZ) declined 4.2%, SPDR Oil & Gas Equipment & Services ETF (NYSEArca: XES) dropped 3.6% and PowerShares Dyanmic Oil and Gas Service ETF (NYSEArca: PXJ) retreated 3.2%. The oil and gas services ETFs are closing in on their short-term support.
Meanwhile, SLB decreased 4.1% Friday after the company revealed third-quarter earnings plunged 49% as low energy prices continued to pressure pricing and demand for services from oil producers, reports Tess Stynes for the Wall Street Journal.
“The business environment deteriorated further in the third quarter,” Chief Executive Paal Kibsgaard said.
SLB is a large component of the oil and services sector ETFs, including 19.9% of OIH, 16.7% of IEZ, 2.6% of XES and 4.8% of PXJ.
Schlumberger’s latest earnings results could point to further pain in the short-term as oilfield activity continues to weaken, reports Fred Imbert for CNBC.
“Schlumberger basically just lowered the boom, saying, ‘However, for oilfield services, the market outlook for the coming quarters looks increasingly challenging.’ In other words, the worse is not over,” Jim Cramer said on CNBC.
Looking ahead, investors will wait for further cues from other major players in the field. Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) and Baker Hughes (NYSE: BHI), which are set to merge, will report third quarter results Monday and Wednesday, respectively.
HAL makes up 12.6% of OIH, 9.0% of IEZ, 2.7% of XES and 4.9% of PXJ. BHI makes up 8.2% of OIH, 7.5% of IEZ, 2.7% of XES and 5.0% of PXJ.
For those seeking a hedge against further weakness in the energy sector, the ProShares Short Oil & Gas (NYSEArca: DDG) tries to reflect the inverse, or -100%, daily performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Oil & Gas Index. The UltraShort Oil & Gas ProShares (NYSEArca: DUG) takes two times the inverse, or -200%, daily performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Oil & Gas Index. The Direxion Daily Energy Bear 3X Shares (NYSEArca: ERY) reflects three times the inverse, or -300%, daily performance of the energy select sector index. Moreover, the recently launched Direxion Daily S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production Bear Shares (NYSEArca: DRIP) takes the -3x, or -300%, daily performance of the S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production Select Industry Index.
Market Vectors Oil Service ETF
For more information on the energy sector, visit our energy category.
Max Chen contributed to this article.