Westlake's (WLK) shares were up more than 3% in Monday trading after JPMorgan upgraded the company's stock to neutral, with a price target of $90.
Trading volume stood at over 750,000 shares compared with a daily average of roughly 1.3 million.
Price: $91.46, Change: $+2.87, Percent Change: +3.24%
Energy stocks were higher late Friday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index rising 1.5% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) climbing up 2%.The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index was decreasing 0.3%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index fell 2.2%.Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil gained 4.2% to $105.43 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract was advancing 3.4% to $109.31 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures rose 2.7% to $2.97 per 1 million BTU.In sector news, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright told CNBC on Friday he expects China to increase oil imports from the US because the two nations are natural partners and because China relies heavily on imports from the Middle East that have mostly been cut off for weeks.In corporate news, ConocoPhillips (COP) shares rose 2.9% after Argus raised its price target to $136 from $128, while keeping its buy rating.Exxon Mobil (XOM) was found not liable by a Texas jury in a lawsuit accusing the oil major of misleading investors about its Canadian oil sands and Rocky Mountain gas operations, Reuters reported late Thursday. Shares gained 3%.BP (BP) plans to cut its pipeline gas trading team and focus on expanding its liquified natural gas trading, Reuters reported. Separately, BP is contemplating selling some natural gas assets in Egypt, Reuters reported. Shares rose 1.7%.Prairie Operating (PROP) shares fell 15% after it reported a Q1 loss late Thursday of $2.16 per diluted share, narrowing from a loss of $3.49 a year earlier. Four analysts polled by FactSet expected earnings of $0.15.
Top cryptocurrencies fell Friday, with Bitcoin (BTC-USD) falling below the $80,000 level.The CoinDesk Market Index, which tracks dozens of digital assets including Bitcoin, fell almost 3.9% in the past 24 hours. The Nasdaq fell 1.6%, the S&P 500 declined 1.3%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1%.Bitcoin fell 2.8% to $79,121, according to CoinMarketCap data. The most popular cryptocurrency's 24-hour trading volume fell 10.6% to $38.68 billion.Ethereum (ETH-USD), the second-largest digital asset by market value, fell 3.3% to $2,222.XRP (XRP-USD) dropped 5.3%, BNB (BNB-USD) dipped 0.8%, and Solana (SOL-USD) fell 3.7%. Dogecoin (DOGE-USD) shed 2.7%, and Cardano (ADA-USD) lost 4.7%.The US 10-year Treasury yield stood at 4.594% at 3 p.m. ET Friday, up from 4.459% Thursday, while the five-year yield rose to 4.256% from 4.119%.The total market value of the cryptocurrency industry fell 2.7% in the past 24 hours to $2.63 trillion, with trading volume declining 2.9% to $160.42 billion.Price: $79097.26, Change: $-1972.28, Percent Change: -2.43%
Elon Musk's rocket and satellite company SpaceX has accelerated its highly anticipated initial public offering, now targeting pricing as early as June 11, with Nasdaq chosen as its listing venue, Reuters reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.The company may make its prospectus public as early as next Wednesday, with a roadshow launch set for June 4 and a market debut expected on June 12, the media outlet added.Advancement of the IPO timeline, initially scheduled for late June, follows a faster-than-expected review of the company's filing by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment from.(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)Price: $424.48, Change: $-18.82, Percent Change: -4.25%