STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Wednesday, 19 November 2014

[Demeter]

18. OPEC IN FOCUS

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries meets in Vienna on Nov. 27 to decide on production targets for next year, and market participants are looking for any sign on whether the producer group will move to shore up prices by trimming output.

Some oil traders saw the latest price hikes from state oil firm Saudi Aramco, reversing some price cuts the previous month, as an indication the kingdom could be seeking to cut production.

Saudi Arabia has previously signalled it was willing to put up with lower oil prices, and last month's big price cuts had triggered a deeper decline in global markets.

But Joseph Posillico, senior vice president of energy derivatives at Jefferies LLC in New York, said he would not put too much weight on the price hike as an indicator of OPEC intentions.

"The fact that they raised the price spiked the market because they had that larger discount last month," he said.