Macquarie analyst Iain Reid yesterday started shares of Exxon Mobil (XOM) with an Underperform rating and $60 price target. Exxon has struggled to grow production in recent years and its future prospects do not justify the current "lofty" valuation, Reid tells investors in a research note. Its growth is well behind sector leaders Total (TOT) and Chevron (CVX), the analyst argues. Reid also started shares of Chevron yesterday with an Underperform rating. Underperform is Macquarie's equivalent of a sell rating.

Notable companies reporting before tomorrow's open, with earnings consensus, include Exxon Mobil (XOM), consensus $2.20... Chevron (CVX), consensus $2.87... AbbVie (ABBV), consensus $2.23... HCA Healthcare (HCA), consensus $5.01... Colgate-Palmolive (CL), consensus 81c... Charter (CHTR), consensus $7.92... AutoNation (AN), consensus $4.27.

Chevron announced that its 50% owned affiliate Tengizchevroil has safely commenced operations at its Wellhead Pressure Management Project, or WPMP, at the Tengiz oil field in Kazakhstan. TCO achieved this milestone by converting its first metering station at Tengiz to low pressure and activating the associated Pressure Boost Facility, or PBF. This marks important progress for TCO's overall expansion project at Tengiz. The WPMP is designed to maintain the existing processing plants' full capacity by lowering the flowing pressure at the wellheads and then boosting the pressure to the existing plants.