-- Energy stocks rose Wednesday with the NYSE Energy Sector Index adding 2% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) gaining 2.1%.
The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index advanced 0.9%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index shed 1.2%.
Oil prices rallied after US President Donald Trump reportedly rejected an Iranian proposal to lift the naval blockade. Trump told Axios he will maintain the US naval blockade of Iranian ports until Tehran agrees to a nuclear deal.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil jumped 8% to $107.90 a barrel, and global benchmark Brent climbed 7.8% to $119.89 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures for May fell 1.7% to $2.65 per 1 million BTU.
US crude oil stocks, including those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, fell by 13.4 million barrels in the week ended Friday following a decrease of 2.2 million in the previous week. Excluding inventories in the SPR, commercial crude oil stocks dropped by 6.2 million-barrels after an increase of 1.9 million increase in the previous week, more than the drop of 190,000 expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.
In corporate news, Phillips 66 (PSX) shares jumped 5%. The company reported Q1 adjusted earnings of $0.49 per diluted share, swinging from the loss of $0.90 a year earlier. Analysts polled by FactSet expected a loss of $0.54.
Entergy (ETR) reported Q1 adjusted earnings of $0.86 per share, up from $0.82 a year earlier. Analysts polled by FactSet expected $0.84. The stock rose 1.3%.
Bloom Energy (BE) shares surged 27% a day after the company reported Q1 adjusted earnings $0.44 per diluted share, up from $0.03 a year earlier. Analysts polled by FactSet expected $0.12.
TotalEnergies (TTE) shares rose 1.4% after the company posted higher Q1 adjusted earnings and revenue.