US natural gas stocks rose by 53 billion cubic feet in the week ended Sept. 18, larger than the 51 billion cubic foot increase expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg as of 7:32 am ET and following an increase of 44 billion cubic feet in the previous week.
Stocks at 3.351 trillion cubic feet are 4.2% lower than in the comparable week a year ago but 2.9% above their 5-year average.
Financial stocks declined in late Wednesday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index shedding 0.7% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) decreasing 0.4%.The Philadelphia Housing Index fell 1.8% and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) lost 1.3%.Bitcoin (BTC-USD) fell 2.1% to $84,537, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries jumped 14.1 basis points to 5.11%.In economic news, Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr called for further interest rate increases to combat sticky inflation. Barr said "further policy adjustments" will likely be needed to ensure inflation comes down to the 2% target in a timely fashion. Last week, the Fed delivered its first rate hike in just over three years.Markets are now pricing in a 71% probability that the Fed will lift interest rates again by 25 basis points in October, according to the CME FedWatch tool. That's up from 55% on Tuesday.The September flash reading of manufacturing conditions from S&P Global rose to a 52-month high of 57 from 53.9 in August, and compared with 53.7 in a Bloomberg survey.US mortgage applications fell 1.5% for the week ending Sept. 18, compared with a decline of 4.1% in the week prior, as the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate increased to 7.12% from 6.97% over the same period.In corporate news, BlackRock (BLK) is directing more money into large-cap stocks in the US and is shifting some of its AI exposure from industry pioneers toward later adopters, Bloomberg reported, citing an investment outlook. BlackRock shares were down 0.4%.Blue Owl Capital (OWL) could see its junior loan to Loparex wiped out as Monarch Alternative Capital and General Atlantic lead a roughly $1 billion restructuring that will see them own a majority of the business, Bloomberg reported. Blue Owl shares were falling 2.7%.A Morgan Stanley (MS) employee accidentally leaked an internal list of more than 100 investment-banking deals the firm is monitoring and pitching in Asia, Bloomberg reported. Morgan Stanley shares were shedding 1%.Brookfield (BN) is nearing a deal to buy financial crime and compliance specialist Actimize from NICE (NICE) for $2 billion, Sky News reported. Brookfield shares were down 1.7%.
Energy stocks rose late Wednesday afternoon with the NYSE Energy Sector Index rising 0.9% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) adding 0.8%.The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index eased 0.2%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index fell 1.8%.West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 2.1% to $92.41 a barrel, and global benchmark Brent gained 4.1% to $103.32 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures climbed 1.9% to $3.02 per 1 million BTU.In sector news, the Trump administration is preparing a plan to ban US diesel exports for 90 days in an effort to bring down fuel prices ahead of the midterm elections, Politico reported Wednesday, citing five people familiar with the discussions. The report said the proposal caused splits inside the administration and with the oil industry. The report "is not true" a White House spokesperson said in an email to.Separately, US crude oil stocks, including those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, rose 2.6 million barrels in the week ended Friday following a drop of 1 million in the previous week. Excluding inventories in the SPR, commercial crude oil stocks increased 3 million after a decline of 600,000 in the previous week, compared to a drop of 690,000 expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.In corporate news, Devon Energy (DVN) was urged earlier this month by activist hedge fund Toms Capital Management to review alternatives, including a sale, CNBC reported. Devon shares rose 2.3%.TotalEnergies (TTE) plans to develop the Ima gas field offshore Nigeria in partnership with AMNI. TotalEnergies shares added 1.8%.Gran Tierra Energy (GTE) filed a definitive proxy statement with US regulators on Sept. 15 related to its special meeting of stockholders to approve the $1.33 billion sale of its Colombian and Ecuadorian businesses. Gran Tierra shares rose 1.4%.PG&E (PCG) shares fell 3.6% after UBS downgraded the stock to neutral from buy and cut its price target to $14 from $19.
Healthcare stocks fell late Wednesday afternoon with the NYSE Healthcare Index shedding 0.9% and the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) dropping 0.6%.The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) declined 2%.In corporate news, Compass Therapeutics (CMPX) shares dropped 6.9% after Wedbush downgraded the stock to neutral from outperform and cut the price target to $1 from $5.Biomea Fusion (BMEA) shares tumbled 16% after the company terminated its proposed public offering of securities announced Tuesday.Astrana Health (ASTH) shares fell 2.2% after the company said some confidential information on its servers may have been accessed after its Astrana Health Management subsidiary detected unusual activity in its systems.Novo Nordisk (NVO) signaled it may consider upgrading its New York listing as it looks to raise its profile in the US market, the Financial Times reported, citing CEO Mike Doustdar. Novo shares fell 3%.