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PetroChina (NYSE: PTR) closed at $142.29 Thursday.

WTI Crude Futures are recently up 1.71% to $129.98 according to Bloomberg.

China's longest fuel pipeline, operated by PTR, is at risk of damage from an earthquake lake that's threatening to burst its banks, said PTR.

PTR overall option implied volatility of 41 is below its 26-week average of 50 according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing movement.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Rising commodities prices hurt markets in Asia.

The Nikkei fell 2.3% to 13,690;. Sony (NYSE: SNE) fell 2.6% to 2910 yen. Toyota (NYE: TM) fell 2.5% to 5010. Yahoo Japan rose 4.6% to 45850.

The Hang Seng sold off 2.1% to 24,196. China Mobile (NYSE: CHL) fell 8% to 115.80 yuan. PetroChina (NYSE: PTR) dropped 2.7% to 10.66.

The Shanghai Composite fell 3.1% to 3,385.

Data from Reuters.

Douglas A. McIntrye is an editor at 247wallst.com.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Georgia Gulf, Sohu.com and I-flow were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Citigroup downgraded Georgia Gulf (NYSE: GGC) to Sell from Hold to reflect the deteriorating fundamentals in North American housing, and their belief that the company is increasingly likely to break its debt covenant ratio.
  
• Deutsche Bank downgraded shares of Sohu.com (NASDAQ: SOHU) to Hold from Buy on valuation and expects 2009 growth to be modest.
  
• Piper cut I-Flow (NASDAQ: IFLO) to Sell from Neutral following the weak Q1 report and guidance.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Morgan Stanley downgraded Coca-Cola Femsa (NYSE: KOF) to Equal Weight from Overweight.
  
• Goldman removed Teva Pharma (NASDAQ: TEVA) from its Conviction Buy List.
  
• Aqua America (NYSE: WTR) was cut to Market Perform from Outperform at Wachovia.
  
• JP Morgan lowered PetroChina (NYSE: PTR) to Underweight from Neutral.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• JP Morgan downgraded Sunoco (NYSE: SUN) to Underweight from Neutral citing expected margin pressure due to high leverage to sweet crude. Goldman also downgraded shares of Sunoco to Neutral from Buy.
  
• Deutsche Bank downgraded shares of Ryanair (NASDAQ: RYAAY) to Sell from Hold as they believe the European airlines sector will trade well below book value until the companies deal with higher oil prices.
  
• UBS cut HSBC (NYSE: HBC) to Neutral from Buy to reflect the potential for higher losses at the company's household unit and weak performance at its U.S. bank.

• Broadpoint lowered MTS Medication (NYSE: MPP) to Neutral from Strong Buy.
  
• HSBC cut Southern Peru Copper (NYSE: PCU) to Neutral from Overweight.
  
• Goldman downgraded CNH Global (NYSE: CNH) to Neutral from Buy and PetroChina (PTR) to Sell from Buy.

Markets in Asia were down sharply.

The Nikkei fell 3.1% to 12,918. Canon fell 5% to 4610 yen. KDDI fell 7.8% to 641000. Sony (NYSE:SNE) fell 4.5% to 4050.

The Hang Seng dropped 3.3% to 23,854. China Life (NYSE:LFC) fell 4.8% to 28.9 yuan. PetroChina (NYSE:PTR) fell 4.5% to 9.89.

The Shanghai Composite was of 5.6% to 3,297.

Data from Reuters. .

Douglas A. McIntyre

Bank of America upgraded Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) to "buy" from "neutral" according to Briefing.com. The news service also reports that Citigroup downgraded PetroChina (NYSE: PTR) from "hold" to "sell."

Bank of America upgraded Analog Devices (NYSE: ADI) to "buy" from "neutral," according to MarketWatch.

ADC Telecom (NASDAQ: ADCT) was raised to "buy" at Deutsche Bank, according to 24/7 Wall St. The financial website also reports that Cirrus Logic (NASDAQ: CRUS) was cut to "perform" from "outperform" at Oppenheimer.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

While the difference between the two companies remains slim, Exxon Mobil can now claim its position at the top thanks to a market cap of an amazing $455.8 billion, compared to PetroChina's market cap of "only" $453.1 billion. Since going public last November, shares of PetroChina have been in free fall, giving back 58% of its value.

The fall from grace for PetroChina is being linked to record high oil prices which put a squeeze on profit margins for the eight year old Chinese company. It has been a tough year for all Chinese stocks, which on average have dropped 25% so far in 2008. The recent run up in oil prices has also led to a slight drop in Exxon Mobil stock, but only a 3% pullback since the time of PetroChina's listing in November.

Markets in Asia fell sharply

The Nikkei was off 3.3% to 12,433. Honda (NYSE: HMC) was off 4.2% to 2940 yen. Mazda was off 5.8% to 377.

The Hang Seng was down 4.1% to 22,458. China Life (NYSE: LFC) was down 4.9% to 28.05 yuan. China Mobile (NYSE: CHL) was down 4.5% to 107.7. PetroChina (NYSE: PTR) was off 6.6% to 10.22.

The Shanghai Composite fell 2.4% to 3,971.

Data from Reuters.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.,com.

The Nikkei fell 3.3% to 12,783. Honda (NYSE:HMC) was down 4.2% to 2990 yen. Sony (NYSE:SNE) was down 5.1% to 4610.

The Hang Seng was off 3.5% to 22,518. China Mobile (NYSE:CHL) was down 4.1% to 110.2 yuan. PetroChina (NYSE:PTR) was off 4.7% to 10.52.

The Shanghai Composite fell 1.4% to 4,310.

Data from Reuters.

Douglas A. McIntre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Most markets in Asia sold off sharply.

The Nikkei fell 4.5% to 12,992. Canon was down 5.2% to 4570 yen. Honda (NYSE:HMC) was down 5.8% to 3070. Toyota (NYSE:TM) was down 3.3% to 5560.

The Hang Seng dropped 3.1% to 23,585. China Netcom (NYSE:CN) fell 23.5 yuan. PetroChina (NYSE:PTR) fell 4.9% to 11.26.

The Shanghai Composite moved up 2.1% to 4,438.

Data from Reuters.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Merrill Lynch downgraded PetroChina (NYSE: PTR) from "buy" to "sell," according to Briefing.com. The news service also reports that Credit Suisse upgraded Mastercard (NYSE: MA) from "underperform" to "neutral."

Rite Aid (NYSE: RAD) was raised to "overweight" from "neutral" at JP Morgan, according to 24/7 Wall St. The website also reports that Automatic Data (NYSE:ADP) was downgraded to neutral" from "buy" at Banc of America.

Director and producer Steven Spielberg resigned his non-paying artistic director advisory role for the 2008 Summer Olympics Games in Beijing because he has become disenchanted with China's lack of effort to use its influence in Sudan to end violence in the Darfur region.

The Chinese want to be players on the world stage without accepting the responsibility that goes along with it, and that was not acceptable to Spielberg. There has been growing pressure around the world on the Chinese, who purchase most of Sudan's oil and sell them weapons, to exert political and economic pressure on the government of Sudan. While Spielberg is only one more voice in a long list condemning Chinese actions and the lack there of, he is a very prominent voice.

Governments, Olympic athletes, religious leaders and shareholders have been complaining that China was not doing enough, if anything to curb the violence. This was an issue with Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) shareholders at their 2007 annual meeting. While stating that he sold off BRK's interest in PetroChina (NYSE: PTR) based on valuation, Warren Buffett was completely divested in a matter of months and the stock has fallen almost 40% from its highs.

Markets in Asia had major sell-off.

The Nikkei was off 4.7% to 13,099. Sony (NYSE: SNE) fell 3% to 4,570. Toyota (NYSE: TM) was up .4% to 5800.

The Hang Seng fell 5.4% to 23,470. China Life (NYSE: LFC) was off 7.9% to 29.4. China Petroleum (NYSE: SNP) was off 8.6% to 8.77. PetroChina (NYSE: PTR) was off 8.8% to 11.14.

The Shanghai Composite was down 1.6% to 4,600.

Data from Reuters.

The Nikkei was up 1.9% to 23.329. Sony (NYSE: SNE) was up 3.6% to 5,220 on strong earnings. Toyota (NYSE: TM) was up 5.4% to 5,820.

The Hang Seng was trading off 1.2% to 23,375 and is now down almost 25% over the last quarter. China Life (NYSE: LFC) was down 4.5% to 27.7. PetroChina (NYSE: PTR) was off 1.9% to 10.6.

The Shanghai Composite fell .8% to 4,383.

Data from Reuters.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.