Crude Oil Continues Slump

In the energy patch, Sun Trust upgraded shares of Compton Petroleum(CMZ Quote) to neutral from reduce, but traders shrugged and the stock was down 3% recently.

Among the majors, Exxon Mobil(XOM Quote) and BP(BP Quote) were 1.4% and 0.8% off, respectively, pulled lower by the decline in the price of crude.

The oilfield services complex took a minor hit after Calyon Securities lowered its opinion of a few names in the sector. It reduced Weatherford(WFT Quote), Grant Prideco(GRP Quote) and Smith International(SII Quote) to add ratings from buys. The shares were declining between 1.7% and 5% recently.

Calyon also cut Bronco Drilling(BRNC Quote) to neutral from buy and Halliburton(HAL Quote) from add to neutral. Shares were lower by 7% and 1.7%, respectively.