US natural gas stocks rose by 108 billion cubic feet in the week ended June 5, a larger gain than the 100 billion cubic foot increase expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg and following an increase of 95 billion cubic feet in the previous week.
Stocks at 2.686 trillion cubic feet were 0.2% lower than in the comparable week a year ago but 6.0% above their 5-year average.
Energy stocks were higher late Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index rising 1.9% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) climbing 1.8%.The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index was adding 0.7%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index decreased 0.1%.Crude oil prices rose Wednesday after President Donald Trump said Iran will have to "pay the price" for taking too long to agree to a peace deal. US forces launched airstrikes Tuesday against Iran after Tehran shot down an American Apache helicopter, Central Command said. Iran launched retaliatory strikes on American military bases across Jordan, Kuwait, and Bahrain, media reports said.Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 2.5% to $90.42 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract added 2.1% to $93.41 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures advanced 1.2% to $3.18 per 1 million BTU.In sector news, US crude oil stocks, including those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, fell by 15.2 million barrels in the week ended June 5 following a decrease of 16.0 million barrels in the previous week. Excluding inventories in the SPR, commercial crude oil stocks fell by 7.2 million barrels after an 8.0-million-barrel decline in the previous week and compared with a 2.2-million-barrel decrease expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.Separately, OpenAI is in advanced talks to lease a proposed 10-gigawatt data center campus on federal land in Ohio, The Information reported. The AI company is discussing a 20-year lease for the site, which is currently being developed by SoftBank Group unit SB Energy on US Department of Energy property, the report said.In corporate news, Devon Energy (DVN) shares jumped nearly 6% after Evercore ISI upgraded the stock to outperform from in line with a $54 price target. Devon said it expects the combined company following its merger with Coterra Energy to produce an average of 1.38 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2026, including 500,000 barrels per day of oil.APA (APA) shares gained 4.3% after the company said Wednesday it has agreed to acquire Savant Alaska for about $70 million in upfront consideration, plus contingent payments related to the development of APA's eastern North Slope portfolio.Petrobras (PBR) agreed to acquire a 50% stake in the Itaimbezinho block in the offshore Campos Basin in southeastern Brazil from Equinor (EQNR) unit Equinor Brasil Energia for an undisclosed amount. Petrobras shares rose 2.1%, and Equinor climbed 2.7%.Entergy (ETR) shares added 1% after Evercore ISI upgraded the company to outperform from in line and lifted its price target to $121 from $115.
Financial stocks were lower in late Wednesday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index down 0.5% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) decreasing 0.2%.The Philadelphia Housing Index fell 2.8%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) added 0.2%.Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was fractionally lower at $61,685, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries rose 1.4 basis points to 4.542%.In economic news, the US seasonally adjusted consumer price index, a measure of inflation, rose by 0.5% in May, as expected, following a 0.6% increase in April, according to data released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, rose by 0.2%, below the consensus estimate for a 0.3% increase. Core CPI rose by 0.4% in April. The year-over-year rates for overall and core CPI increased to 4.2% and 2.9%, respectively, from 3.8% and 2.8% in the previous month.In corporate news, JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Bank of America (BAC) are among the major US banks that have received subpoenas from the Justice Department seeking information over whether they "debanked" clients for political reasons, The Wall Street Journal reported. JPMorgan shares were down 0.4%, and Bank of America rose 0.7%.Visa (V) said Wednesday its payment services will be integrated into OpenAI's platform to allow retailers to accept purchases from AI agents. Visa shares were shedding 0.4%.Nasdaq (NDAQ) Verafin is launching a new set of agentic workers, beginning with the Agentic AML Analyst and the Agentic Fraud Analyst, the firm said. The shares were down 0.8%.Brookfield Asset Management (BAM) is expanding its offerings for wealthy investors in Japan, targeting infrastructure, real estate, and private credit as hedges against inflation, Nikkei reported. Brookfield shares were falling 3.2%.
Tech stocks were lower late Wednesday afternoon, with the State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) falling 2.4% and the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) dropping 3.4%.The Philadelphia Semiconductor index slumped 3.6%.In sector news, institutional demand for SpaceX shares is more than four times the amount available ahead of its initial public offering, Bloomberg reported.In corporate news, Microsoft-backed (MSFT) OpenAI is expected to go public within the next year, although the timing could shift depending on market and company conditions, The Information reported, citing Chief Executive Sam Altman's Slack message to staff. Microsoft shares were down 1.3%.Super Micro Computer (SMCI) shares tumbled past 25% after the company said late Tuesday it is planning $7 billion worth of equity and equity-linked financing transactions as part of efforts to fund AI orders related to its advanced servers.Alphabet (GOOGL, GOOG) unit Google's YouTube and Meta (META) were denied a new trial after a jury found that the companies were liable for designing social media platforms that are addictive to young people, Reuters reported Wednesday. Alphabet shares were down 2.2%, and Meta shed 2.2%.ASML (ASML) will cut fewer jobs than the roughly 1,700 positions it initially planned to eliminate following negotiations with Dutch labor unions, Bloomberg reported. ASML shares declined 2%.