Friday, May 1, 2020

Markets slump as oil company earnings are hard hit

Dow tumled 461, decliners over advancers 6-1 & NAZ sank 206  The MLP index fell 4+ to 131 & the REIT index sank 11 to the 323s.  Junk bond funds were weak & Treasuries  slid lower in price.  Oil edge higher, going over 19, & gold added 8 to 1702.

AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)

stock chart

CL=FCrude Oil19.90
+1.06+5.6%

GC=FGold   1,692.10
 -2.10 -0.1%






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Exxon Mobil (XOM), a Dow stock & Dividend Aristocrat, took a $2.9B writedown in Q1, resulting in a $610M loss.  The integrated oil company lost 13¢ a share as revenue fell 12% from a year ago to $56.2B.  The forecast was for flat earnings on revenue of $51.85B.  XOM last month announced it would slash capital expenditures by 30% & reduce operating expenses by 15% in order to protect its 87¢ div.  Capital expenditures are expected to total $23B for the year, down from $33B.  “COVID-19 has significantly impacted near-term demand, resulting in oversupplied markets and unprecedented pressure on commodity prices and margins,” CEO Darren Woods.  Its oil-equivalent production was 4M barrels per day, up 2% from a year ago, as liquids increased by 7%, partially offset by a 5% drop in gas.  “Our company remains strong, and we will manage through the current market downturn as we have for decades,” Woods added.  The stock dropped 2.12.
If you would like to learn more about XOM, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/XOM?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7

Exxon takes $2.9B writedown, loses $600M+ as virus ravages crude market


Chevron (CVX), also a Dow stock & Dividend Aristocrat, is taking further action to protect its prized div.  The integrated energy company will reduce capital expenditures by an additional $2B to $14B & lower operating costs by $1B.  CVX in Mar cut capital spending by $4B & suspended share buybacks.  “First-quarter earnings were up from a year ago, driven by downstream margins and increased" output from the Permian basin, CEO Michael Wirth said.  “However, commodity prices fell significantly in March and the weakness continued into the second quarter, primarily due to reduced demand resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.”  EPS was $1.93 as revenue fell 11% to $31.5B.  The forecast called for 68¢ on revenue of $29.4B.  The results included a $240M gain associated with the sale of upstream assets in the Philippines & a $440M tax benefit from CVX's intl upstream business.  The worldwide net oil-equivalent production hit a quarterly record 3.24M barrels per day, up 6¢ from a year ago.  The stock declined 3.52.
If you would like to learn more about CVX, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/CVX?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7

Chevron slashes costs to protect dividend from coronavirus


Pres Trump said his hard-fought trade deal with China was now of secondary importance to the coronavirus pandemic & he threatened new tariffs on Beijing, as his administration crafted retaliatory measures over the outbreak.  Trump's sharpened rhetoric against China reflected his growing frustration with Beijing over the pandemic, which has cost tens of thousands of lives in the US alone, sparked an economic contraction & threatened his chances of re-election in November.  2 US. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a range of options against China were under discussion but cautioned that efforts were in the early stages.  Recommendations have not yet reached the level of Trump's top national security team or the pres, one official said.  "There is a discussion as to how hard to hit China and how to calibrate it properly," one of the sources said as The US walks a tightrope in its ties with Beijing while it imports personal protection equipment (PPE) from there & is wary of harming a sensitive trade deal.  Trump made clear, however, that his concerns about China's role in the origin & spread of the coronavirus were taking priority for now over his efforts to build on an initial trade agreement with Beijing that long dominated his dealings with the world's 2nd-largest economy.  "We signed a trade deal where they're supposed to buy, and they've been buying a lot, actually. But that now becomes secondary to what took place with the virus," Trump told reporters.  "The virus situation is just not acceptable."

Trump threatens new tariffs on China as U.S. mulls retaliatory action over virus outbreak


The stock market has had an outstanding recovery in the last 5 weeks with only limited good news.  However there was a lot of optimistic talk about a rebound.  The oil majors had a very tough qtr, highlighted by worries about their divs.  Reopening the US economy will take time & a lot of effort.  Q2 just began & there will be a lot of sputtering before significant progress is made.  And now there are worries about US-China trade.  Gold remains in strong demand.

Dow Jones Industrials








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