Drybulk Shippers Rally on Surging BDI, Morgan Stanley Sector Upgrade, DryShips News (DRYS, GNK, EXM, more)

The drybulk shipping sector is moving sharply higher this morning on the back of several news items.

First, the most heavily traded shipper, DryShips (Nasdaq: DRYS) announced earlier that it has received preliminary approval to obtain a covenant waiver in connection with the $800.0 million Nordea Bank Primelead facility. Concerns surrounding this loan caused shares of DryShips stock to sink more than 26% on Monday of last week, so today's announcement is helping DryShips investors breath a sigh of relief. Shares of DryShips are currently up more than 10% to $6.84.

Also, the Baltic Dry Index, a measure of day-to-day shipping rates, is surging this morning. The index is a major indicator as to how much dry bulk shippers will charge, so, as the index rises, so do the stocks of these shippers. The BDI, according to DryShips Daily Market Report is up 173 points today.

The sector may also be seeing upside today as analysts at Morgan Stanley have raised their investment rating on the Commodity Shipping sector from Cautious to In Line.

Elsewhere in the sector:

• Genco Shipping (NYSE: GNK) up 9.4% to $22.26
  
• Excel Maritime Carriers (NYSE: EXM) up 9.3% to $8.84
  
• Eagle Bulk Shipping (Nasdaq: EGLE) up 7.9% to $8.49
  
• TBS International (Nasdaq: TBSI) up 6.3% to $12.91
  
• Diana Shipping (NYSE: DSX) up 4.2%

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