Sector Update: Energy Stocks Rise Late Afternoon

Energy stocks were higher late Friday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index rising 1.3% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) increasing 0.9%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index was up 0.1%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index was shedding 0.7%.

Crude oil prices jumped amid Washington intensifying strikes against Iran. US Central Command said in a post on X that it completed the sixth consecutive wave of attacks against Iran, degrading the nation's military capabilities and holding it "accountable" for recent attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. President Donald Trump has threatened to launch broad-based air strikes on Iranian infrastructure and has also declined to rule out a ground assault on Iran's coast or islands, Reuters reported.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil jumped 4% to $82.12 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract climbed 4.2% to $87.77 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures rose 2% to $2.92 per 1 million BTU.

In sector news, incoming UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham is preparing to announce support for new North Sea oil and gas drilling and plans to bring Thames Water under public control shortly after taking office, Bloomberg reported. Burnham, who is due to succeed Keir Starmer on Monday, has asked civil servants to prepare energy and water policy proposals that could be announced as early as next week, according to the report. Options under consideration include backing development of the Jackdaw gas and Rosebank oil fields and expanding drilling tied to existing North Sea projects.

In corporate news, Chevron (CVX) subsidiary Chevron Exploration Services and Iraqi state-owned Basra Oil have signed an agreement to further their commercial negotiations regarding the West Qurna Phase 2 oil field, a company spokesperson toldin an emailed response Friday. Chevron shares rose 1.7%.

ConocoPhillips (COP) said Friday it has agreed to acquire a 42% stake in BP's (BP) BP Energy Co. of Kirkuk, which oversees the ongoing redevelopment of four large-scale, currently producing oil fields in northern Iraq's Kirkuk region. ConocoPhillips shares rose 1.3%, and BP climbed 1.8%.

PBF Energy (PBF) shares gained 3.3% after Evercore ISI started coverage of the firm with an in-line rating and $58 price target.

Valero Energy (VLO) shares were rising 2.7%. The company said in a filing Thursday that its board has authorized the purchase of the company's common stock worth $5 billion, in addition to the amount remaining under its existing buyback program.

Sector Update: Energy Stocks Rise Late Afternoon

Energy stocks were higher late Thursday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index increasing 0.5% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) adding 0.8%.The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index was down 0.5%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index was fractionally higher.Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil shed 0.8% to $78.98 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract decreased 0.8% to $84.27 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures fell 1.2% to $2.89 per 1 million BTU.In sector news, US natural gas stocks rose by 41 billion cubic feet in the week ended July 10, above the 39 billion increase expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg and following an increase of 61 billion cubic feet in the previous week.In corporate news, Excelerate Energy (EE) shares rose 2.2% after Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of the stock with a buy rating and a $49 price target.Chevron (CVX) is expected to sign accords with Iraq on Friday that will further the company's negotiations about investing in large oil fields, Bloomberg reported Thursday, citing a senior company executive. Chevron shares were up 1.1%.Constellation Energy's (CEG) venture arm made an equity investment in Blue Energy, a developer of prefabricated nuclear power plants, for an undisclosed amount. Constellation shares were down 2.9%.TotalEnergies (TTE) expects Q2 hydrocarbon production to be nearly 2.4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, supported by about 4% organic growth, the company said Thursday. Its shares were shedding 1.9%.

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Sector Update: Financial Stocks Edge Higher Late Afternoon

Financial stocks edged up in late Thursday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index up 0.1% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) 0.2% higher.The Philadelphia Housing Index rose 1.6%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) was up 1.8%.Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was shedding 0.8% to $64,191, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries rose 2.4 basis points to 4.569%.In economic news, US retail sales rose 0.2% in June, following a 1.0% gain in the prior month, and meeting expectations in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.Initial jobless claims dropped to 208,000 in the week ended July 11 from 216,000 in the previous week, compared with expectations for an increase to 217,000.In corporate news, Apollo Global Management (APO) plans to allocate as much as $20 billion to financing projects in Mexico as it seeks new opportunities for its private credit business, Bloomberg reported. Apollo shares were up 0.7%.BlackRock (BLK) delivered a largely clean Q2 performance, with margin expansion reinforcing confidence that organic base fee growth can be sustained at the high end of guidance, UBS said in a note. UBS kept its buy rating and raised the price target to $1,320 from $1,270. BlackRock shares were down 0.7%.U.S. Bancorp (USB) and State Street (STT) reported higher Q2 earnings year over year on Thursday, as both lenders topped revenue estimates amid strong net interest income and fee-based gains. U.S. Bancorp shares rose 1.5%, and State Street was shedding 0.8%.Voya Financial (VOYA) has attracted informal takeover interest in recent weeks, though no talks are underway and the company's management and board are not seeking a transaction, Semafor reported. Voya shares rose 1.4%.

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Sector Update: Tech Stocks Fall Late Afternoon

Tech stocks were lower late Thursday afternoon, with the State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) falling 2.6% and the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) dropping 6.3%.The Philadelphia Semiconductor index shed 4.7%.In corporate news, Alphabet's (GOOGL) Google is months behind schedule on delivering its most powerful AI model -- Gemini 3.5 Pro -- due to its efforts to improve its capabilities, especially in coding, Bloomberg reported. Alphabet shares were down 4.4%.Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) shares fell 3.2% despite the company's Q2 earnings and revenue surpassing analysts' consensus estimates. The company earmarked an additional $100 billion to increase its chipmaking capacity in the US, Bloomberg reported, citing a US official.Apple (AAPL) is readying a new iPad mini model with significant updates, including an OLED screen for the first time, Bloomberg reported. Apple shares rose 1.6%.Meta Platforms' (META) independent Oversight Board said Thursday that AI models from leading developers, including Meta, OpenAI, Anthropic, Alphabet's Google and DeepSeek, are more likely to refuse politically critical requests involving governments with restrictive free speech laws. Meta shares were down 2.7%.

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