Oil Winners & Losers

NEW YORK -- Shares of oil companies rose on Friday along with the broader market after crude prices rebounded from an earlier slide.

Crude oil prices rose 70 cents, or 1.4%, to $50.10 on Friday, a day after prices crossed below the $50 threshold and hit the lowest point since March 2005. Crude prices have tumbled, shedding two-thirds of its value since July.

Shares of Exxon Mobil (XOM Quote), the world's largest publicly traded oil company, rose $7.30, or 10.66%, to $75.81. Shares of Marathon Oil (MRO Quote) gained $2.94, or 15.02%, to $22.52.

This could be the cautious start of an upswing for oil companies, said Fadel Gheit, an analyst with Oppenheimer & Co., in a phone interview. ...