Sector Update: Energy Stocks Fall Friday Afternoon
Energy stocks were sharply lower Friday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index dropping 4.4% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) falling 3.4%.The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index shed 0.6%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index was down 0.7%.In sector news, oil prices plunged Friday as Iran's foreign minister said the Strait of Hormuz is "completely open" following a ceasefire in Lebanon. "In line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire," Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said Friday in a post on the X platform.Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil slumped 12% to $83.24 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract dropped 10% to $89.24 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures rose 1.8% to $2.69 per 1 million BTU.In corporate news, an Astana court upheld a 2.356 trillion tenge ($5 billion) environmental fine against North Caspian Operating Co., the operator of Kazakhstan's Kashagan oil field, whose shareholders include Exxon Mobil (XOM), Shell (SHEL), TotalEnergies (TTE), and Eni (E), among others, Bloomberg reported. Exxon shares fell 4.7%, Shell dropped 5.1%, TotalEnergies shed 4.9%, and Eni fell 7.2%.Petrobras (PBR) said Friday it signed an agreement with Oranto Petroleum to buy a 75% working interest and assume operatorship of Block 3, an offshore exploration site in Sao Tome and Principe. Petrobras shares were down 5.6%.Critical Metals (CRML) shares surged 36% after it said Friday that the Government of Greenland has approved the transfer of the remaining 50.5% stake in Tanbreez Mining Greenland, increasing the company's ownership to 92.5%.