Exxon Mobil (XOM: sentiment, chart, options) is up more than 6% this afternoon following an upgrade from Oppenheimer. The brokerage firm raised its opinion on XOM from "perform" to "outperform," and also upgraded 16 other stocks. Exxon's fellow Dow component Chevron (CVX) received an identical upgrade, as did Valero Energy (VLO), Sunoco (SUN), Hess Corp. (HES), and Murphy Oil (MRO), amongst others.

In other Exxon news, CEO Rex Tillerson asserted that the credit crunch isn't affecting business at the world's largest energy company (by market cap). He also noted that Exxon doesn't plan its business around $100-per-barrel oil, but that "it is too early to tell" what effect the recent slump in oil prices might have on spending. While XOM's 5-year capital expenditure plan "still looks pretty much in place," it's possible that the company's stock-buyback plan may be adjusted, Tillerson told reporters at an American Petroleum Institute conference.

XOM shares have struggled in 2008, with the stock down 27% under pressure from its 10-week and 20-week moving averages. Traders in today's session are rushing to add new positions on the stock's newly active December series, and put volume has a slight edge in afternoon activity. The December 90 call has seen 2,024 contracts cross the tape so far, on open interest of zero; meanwhile, the most active put is the December 50, with 2,632 new positions being added so far today.