(The Associated Press circulated the following on July 29.)
NEW YORK — Shares of freight railroad operators accelerated Tuesday amid a broader market rally, as oil prices traded at their lowest point in seven weeks.
Light, sweet crude for September delivery fell $2.54 to settle at $122.19 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices fell as much a $4 per barrel during the day, continuing a two-week pull back after hitting a record above $147.
The biggest gainer among railroad stocks Tuesday was Kansas City Southern, which is the only railroad yet to report second-quarter earnings. The Kansas City, Mo.-based railroad is scheduled to release its quarterly results before the market opens on Thursday. Shares of Kansas City Southern jumped $3.61, or 7.6 percent, to close at $51.26 Tuesday.
Analysts expect a positive report from the company, following better-than-expected results at its competitors.
Eastern competitors CSX Corp. and Norfolk Southern Corp. both reported double-digit increases in second-quarter profits. The two largest U.S. railroads, Union Pacific Corp. and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., released second-quarter adjusted earnings last week that came in above Wall Street expectations.
CSX rose $3.01, or 4.9 percent to $64.83, while Norfolk Southern added $3.67, or 5.3 percent, to $72.69.
Union Pacific gained $4.43, or 5.8 percent, to $81.01 and Burlington Northern rose $4.41, or 4.6 percent, to $101.15.