Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Rowan may remain in S&P 500, shares rally

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) � Oil service firm Rowan Cos. and coal producer Alpha Natural Resources Inc. led a rebound in energy stocks on Thursday, while U.S.-llsted shares of Royal Dutch Shell reversed course and rose after it said an oil sheen near one of its deepwater oil fields in the Gulf of Mexico didn�t come from its operations.

Rowan Cos. RDC �moved up by 9.7% after its board of directors approved a plan to move its corporate headquarters to Britain. Instead of listing its common stock in the United States as American depositary shares, Rowan confirmed it�s actively pursuing a Class A share structure. The move would allow it to remain in the S&P 500 SPX , with shares trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Click to Play Jobless Claims Jump--What's Next in Labor Markets?

Paul Vigna and John Shipman on Markets Hub discuss the state of the labor markets after jobless claims jump. Photo: Getty Images

Inclusion in the index is generally seen as a plus for a company�s stock since it guarantees a large pool of investors through products such as the Select Sector SPDR-Energy Exchange Traded Fund XLE .

Energy stocks in the S&P 500 SPX �rose 3.1%, on average, with help from a 10% jump from Alpha Natural Resources ANR and a 7.5% rise from Peabody Energy BTU .�

BlackRock managing director Dan Rice told The Wall Street Journal that U.S. coal miners are a great buy after being oversold recently.

Also moving up Valero Energy Corp.VLO �and Nabors Industries NBR �each rose about 5%.

U.S.-listed shares of Royal Dutch Shell RDS.A �rose 0.2% after the company estimated an oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico measured at about six barrels of oil. �Although we are confident at this time that the sheen did not originate from Shell operations, out of prudent caution we will continue to respond to the sheen,� Shell in a statement.

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