Sector Update: Energy Stocks Fall Late Afternoon
Energy stocks declined late Friday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) each shedding 1.8%.The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index slumped 5%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index advanced 0.6%.In sector news, skirmishes continued overnight between Hezbollah and Israel in southern Lebanon after the Iran-backed militant group rejected a US-brokered proposal aimed at securing a broader truce, Bloomberg reported.US President Donald Trump said he would meet with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei if a deal is finalized to end the US-Iran war.West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 3% to $90.28 a barrel, and global benchmark Brent declined 2.2% to $92.90 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures dropped 3.6% to $3.22 per 1 million BTU.In corporate news, Suncor Energy (SU) shares were down 4.8% in Friday afternoon trading after Goldman Sachs downgraded the company to neutral from buy and raised its price target to CA$100 ($71.70) from CA$98.56.Duke Energy (DUK) said Friday it secured up to a $61.8 million grant from the US Department of Energy to support critical upgrades for its coal-fired power plants in Kentucky and North Carolina. Duke Energy shares rose 2.1%.StealthGas (GASS) shares rose 4.3% in Friday trading after the company's Q1 revenue beat Street consensus.NextNRG (NXXT) on Friday reported preliminary revenue of $9.3 million in May, up from $6.6 million a year earlier. NextNRG shares fell 15%.
