Sector Snap: Packaging makers rise on cheaper gas

In afternoon trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas was down 82.6 cents at $10.572 per 1,000 cubic feet. It has tumbled more than 20 percent since its peak before the Fourth of July.

AbitibiBowater Inc. rose 64 cents, or 8.4 percent, to $8.25, Ball Corp. gained $2.42, or 5.3 percent, to $48.27, Crown Holdings Inc. climbed $1.70, or 6.2 percent, to $29, Louisiana-Pacific Corp. increased 52 cents, or 6.2 percent, to $8.98 and Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. was up 41 cents, or 9.3 percent, to $4.81.

Even shares of Sunoco Products Co., which fell early in the session on a weak third-quarter outlook, were up 9 cents to $30.93.