Junk slides to end week as oil prices plunge to 12-year lows; energy issues hardest hit

By Paul Deckelman and Paul A. Harris

New York, Jan. 15 – The high-yield market closed out a tumultuous second week of 2016 on Friday with most issues moving lower, in line with a slide in equities and in oil prices.

The latter fell to their lowest levels in over 12 years.

That, in turn, was definitely a drag on the important energy component in the junk market; such names as Midstates Petroleum Co., Inc., Memorial Production Partners, LP, Oasis Petroleum Inc., California Resources Corp. and Halcon Resources Corp. were all multiple-point losers on the day in heavy trading.

The energy names weren’t the only losers; traders saw such non-energy credits as Frontier Communications Corp., United Rentals, Inc. and Men’s Wearhouse Inc. also retreating in active trading.

The slide even extended to recently priced issues such as Pinnacle Foods Inc. and Microsemi Corp., which were trading off from the peak levels both had hit earlier in the week.

Statistical measures of junk market performance were lower across the board on Friday after having mixed on Thursday. It was their second lower session in the last three trading days.

The indicators were also lower all around versus where they had finished last Friday.

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