Energy stocks rallied to lead S&P 500 gainers Friday, rebounding from a rout Thursday driven by a steep decline in oil prices. Crude futures were back in the black Friday after a nearly 5% decline in the prior session, although prices were on track for a hefty loss for the week. Oil has suffered “heavy losses this week as investors are no longer pleased with current output cuts by OPEC,” said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Think Markets, as reported by MarketWatch. Futures were up 77 cents, or 1.7%, at $46.29 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Against that backdrop, Transocean Ltd led the advancers with a 7.4% gain. Chesapeake Energy Corp. was up 5.4%, NRG Energy Inc. was up 3% and Murphy Oil Corp. rose 2.5%. National Oilwell Varco Inc. added 2.3%, TechnipFMC Plc rose 2.2% and Hess Corp. tacked on 2.1%. The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund was up 0.8%. The S&P 500 was slightly higher.
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