This post was originally published on this site
https://i-invdn-com.akamaized.net/news/LYNXNPEC0K0YG_M.jpg
Investing.com — U.S. stock markets opened mostly lower on Monday ahead of a pivotal week for the U.S. economy set to be dominated by discussions over a fresh package of fiscal measures to support a flagging economic recovery.
By 9:40 AM ET (1340 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 67 points, or 0.3%, at 26,453 points, while the S&P 500 was down 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.4%.
The oil and gas sector featured heavily in early trade, as oilfield services firm Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) reported a 46% drop in second-quarter revenue and a big net loss due to a $2.1 billion impairment charge. U/nderlying results were somewhat better than expected, however, pushing Halliburton stock up 5.4%.
Chevron (NYSE:CVX) stock fell 1.0% and Noble Energy (NASDAQ:NBL) stock rose 7.7% after the major said it would buy the shale player for around $5 billion in stock and assume another $8 billion in debt. That’s the biggest deal in the sector since the coronavirus pandemic erupted, and is likely to repeat itself as a welter of shale companies struggle with a combination of heavy debt loads and low prices.
More intriguingly, financially troubled shale company Denbury Resources (NYSE:DNR) was forced to deny that it had issued a press release claiming to have received a buyout proposal. A press release described by the company as “fraudulent” had claimed the company – which missed a coupon payment at the end of June and is seen by some as a possible candidate for bankruptcy – had received an offer more than five times above its Friday closing level of 23c. Denbury stock was up 4c at 27c.
