US open: Markets fluctuate as energy shares tumble

US stocks fluctuated on Friday as crude prices kept tumbling, with oil companies registering heavy losses.

Just before 10:00 in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.16%,while the S&P 500 was 0.11% lower and the Nasdaq gained 0.28%.

Markets were closed on Thursday for Thanksgiving Day, so energy shares were playing catch-up with their European peers after the Organisation for Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decided against cutting output, sending the price of oil tumbling to a four-year low.

West Texas Intermediate crude fell 6.4% on Wednesday's close to $68.95, its first dip below $70 since mid-2010, on concerns about a global supply glut. There was no trading floor for US oil on Thursday.

“The fall in the oil price ahead of OPEC’s decision was greater than the reaction after it. The market obviously not surprised at the decision and nor were we.

“We cannot see a floor to the oil price at the moment, but that is only partially due to the fundamentals. Oil is in the hands of the speculators,” said Brewin Dolphin analyst Iain Armstrong.

“The longer the oil price stays at these levels the greater chance a US shale producer will go under, but it will take time.”

In corporate news, Exxon, Devon Energy and Chevron were among some of the oil companies whose shares registered a sharp decline in the wake of OPEC’s decision.

In contrast, the prospect of lower fuel costs boosted travel stocks, with Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and cruise operator Carnival making gains.

Wal-Mart Stores rose after saying that Thanksgiving Day delivered the second-highest online sales day ever, topped only by Cyber Monday in 2013.

Having rallied in pre-market trading, GoPro shares fell slightly on Black Friday casting doubts over whether the wearable video camera maker could reach a fourth straight gain.

The dollar fell against the euro but advanced against the pound and the yen, while gold futures slid over 1.5% to 1,178.80 points.

The yield on the 10-year US Treasury fell four basis points to 2.21%, while the yield on 30-year note fell by the same margin to 2.92% and the five-year Treasuries shed three basis points to 1.53%.

US markets will close early on Friday at around 13:00.