Oil prices fell on Friday, and energy stocks trended lower as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries held its December meeting, which ended with no change to output production levels. For the day the Standard & Poor's 500 energy sector was down 0.56% led by losses from Kinder Morgan (KMI, Financial) down 12.67%.
In a much anticipated event, OPEC held its 168th meeting in Vienna to discuss the global oil market and potential reductions in production levels for member countries. The Dec. 4 meeting closed with no change for oil production level requirements providing a reprieve for the supply and demand imbalance currently pushing oil price levels to record lows.
Year to date, energy stock values continue to diminish with the S&P 500 energy sector down 18.26% versus the broader index which is up 1.56%. For the year, the stock prices of Consol Energy (CNX, Financial) and Chesapeake Energy (CHK, Financial) have seen the greatest losses. Consol is down 76.74% while Chesapeake has lost 75.86%. With the next OPEC meeting scheduled for June 2016, it seems the struggling energy market will see continued headwinds pressuring earnings through 2016.
In a recent interview with CNBC, Helima Croft of RBC Capital Markets provided her insight on the Dec. 4 meeting and oil production levels overall.
