Stocks up following big Exxon Mobil deal

Stocks opened higher this morning following news of Exxon Mobil's blockbuster $31 billion acquisition of natural gas company XTO Energy.

In the first 30 minutes of trading, the Dow is up two-tenths of 1 percent.

The broader S&P 500 is up nearly four-tenths of 1 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq is up three-tenths of 1 percent.

XTO is a big player in natural gas, and Exxon's purchase signals the swing by big oil companies to pick up natural gas, which is a cleaner-burning fuel and can be extracted from shale using all sorts of new technology.

It's an all-stock acquisition. Last week, Exxon Mobil moved ahead on a $15 billion natural gas project in Papua New Guinea.

Here's a piece The Post's Steve Mufson wrote recently about natural gas extraction from shale.

-- Frank Ahrens
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