Oil prices worry markets

Rising oil prices have once again caused the markets in London and New York to turn lower Monday.

The price of a barrel of oil went above $58 for the first time. While most oil stocks rose, those gains were more than offset by losses caused by worries about the impact of rising oil prices on profits.

In New York, shares of Best Buy, the electronics retailer, for example, fell 1.4 percent on fears that rising oil prices might hurt sales.

Unocal and ChevronTexaco were exceptions to a general rise in energy stocks as Unocal agreed to a takeover by ChevronTexaco; shares of both companies fell in the absence of a counter bid.

In London, Burren Energy, BP, and Shell were all higher, as were Tullow Oil and Paladin Resources. Meanwhile, Tokyo markets also closed lower amid profit-taking on domestic stocks, even though oil stocks and export dependent companies generally remained high.

There, Nippon Oil Corp, AOC Holdings, and Japan Petroleum among energy stocks, were all up substantially. Of export dependent companies, Honda, Hitachi, and Fuji Photo Film were also up Monday.

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