Yesterday, most of the leading oil refinery stocks were selling off. One of the catalysts for the declines in the oil refinery stocks is due to the weak earnings report by Marathon Petroleum Corp (MPC). Yesterday, MPC stock declined by $4.42 to $77.98 a share. The stock will have intra-day support around the $76.60 level. The daily chart of MCP is still holding above last week's low of $75.20. Should that level fail to hold as support, the next downside support area would be the gap fill from January 29, 2013 at $70.00. Either way, this is ugly price action for this leading oil refiner.
Some leading oil refinery stocks that are falling in sympathy to MPC stock include Valero Energy Corp (VLO), Tesoro Corp (TSO), Western Refining Inc (WNR), HollyFrontier Corp (HFC), and Phillips 66 (PSX). This important industry group has been one of the leading sectors in 2013. At this time, this decline in the oil refinery stocks looks to be a natural pullback. Should these stocks decline further it could be signaling real problems for this industry group.