First Solar, $103 crude rally energy stocks

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) � Energy stocks wrapped up a positive week with gains across all three of the sector�s main indexes. Natural-gas stocks posted the biggest advance even as oil prices closed ahead of the three-day weekend atop $103 a barrel.

First Solar Inc. was the standout mover Friday, jumping as much as 12% early in the session on news the company had resolved permit problems that had been holding up construction of its Antelope Valley power plant near Los Angeles.

Shares of First Solar FSLR �held most of the early gains, closing 7% higher to $42.59, making it the session�s leading percentage gainer in the S&P 500 Index SPX .

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Resolving the construction permit on its 230-megawatt Antelope Valley plant clears the way for $646 million in federal loan guarantees for the project. First Solar warned in a filing last week with the Securities and Exchange Commission that the loan could be jeopardized if it didn�t sort out the permitting issue, prompting the latest selloff of the stock.

Meanwhile, the rest of the energy sector got plenty of support from oil prices. March crude futures ended the week at $103.24 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, a nine-month high. Read the latest on energy futures.

London-based BP PLC BP �was the top percentage gainer in the group, up 2% to $47.62 a share, followed by a 1% advance to $55.08 a share for France�s Total SA TOT .

The big European oil companies have benefited from rising tensions between the West and Iran. European refiners are more vulnerable to a disruption of Iranian oil supplies than are their North American counterparts, which in turn puts a premium on crude prices in Europe.

The NYSE Arca Oil Index XX:XOI rose a modest 0.3% Friday to 1,324.19 points. For the week, the index rose 1.8%.

Natural-gas stocks were a bit more buoyant. The NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index XX:XNG �rose nearly 1.1% Friday to 682.58 points, leaving it with an advance of almost 4.4% for the week.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. CHK �led gainers in the natural-gas group Friday, up nearly 4% to $24.71 a share. Chesapeake, the nation�s biggest natural-gas producer, reports fourth-quarter earnings after the closing bell Tuesday. Analysts polled by FactSet Research expect the company to earn 59 cents a share on $2.7 billion in sales.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index OSX �advanced 1.3% Friday, moving it 2.5% higher for the week. So far this year, the oil-service sector is up 17%. landing it among the top-performing sectors in the broader equities market.