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- September 18, 2012, 6:51 PM
Seven Oil-Related Stocks See Unusual Late-Day Price Spikes
Seven oil- and gas-related stocks saw brief price spikes in the closing minutes of U.S. trading Tuesday, the latest sign of unusual activity that has unnerved some market participants.
Around 3:47 p.m. EDT, shares jumped between 3% and 9% in oil- and gas-equipment makers National Oilwell Varco Inc NOV -1.24%. (NOV) Cameron International Corp CAM -0.24%. (CAM) Exterran Holdings Inc EXH +0.21%. (EXH); offshore drillers Rowan Cos RDC +1.29%. (RDC) Ensco PLC ESV +0.84% (ESV) and Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc DO +0.37%. (DO); and Tidewater Inc TDW -0.98%. (TDW), a provider of marine services to the oil and gas industry.
All of the affected stocks quickly reversed those gains, and each closed within 2% of the prices at which they began the day.
The activity led to an investigation by exchange operators such as Nasdaq OMX Group NDAQ -1.95% (NDAQ) NYSE Euronext NYX -2.40% (NYSE) and Direct Edge Holdings LLC, which sent advisories to traders noting the unusual activity was “potentially erroneous.” The exchanges later said trades in the affected stocks would stand.
Spokesmen for NYSE and Nasdaq declined to comment. A Direct Edge spokesman couldn’t immediately be reached.
The unusual price action comes as exchanges brace for greater scrutiny from the Securities and Exchange Commission, which announced Friday it had fined NYSE Euronext as part of a settlement involving allegations of improper delivery of market data. NYSE Euronext didn’t admit or deny the allegations.
Earlier this year, trades caused by faulty software at Knight Capital Group Inc KCG -3.01%. (KCG) led to a $440 million loss for the firm.
In the wake of that episode and other tech-related glitches–such as the failed listing of BATS Global Markets this spring and problems with Facebook Inc FB +1.63%.’s (FB) initial public offering in May–the SEC scheduled a roundtable on market technology issues for Oct. 2.
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