News

Energy stocks declined late Wednesday afternoon with the NYSE Energy Sector Index shedding 0.8% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) down 1%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector index dropped 0.8%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities index shed 0.1%.

US crude oil stocks, including those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, rose 4.9 million barrels in the week ended Friday following a decrease of 2.2 million in the previous week. Excluding SPR inventories, commercial crude oil stocks rose 3.6 million after a 2.5 million decrease in the previous week, compared with the 2.8 million drop expected in a Bloomberg survey.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil eased 0.1% to $80.78 a barrel, while global benchmark Brent crude rose 0.1% to $85.10 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures tumbled 5% to $2.62 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, PPL (PPL) shares fell 0.7%. The company said its Louisville Gas & Electric and Kentucky Utilities units will explore additional locations and partnerships that may support nuclear energy in the state.

Pembina Pipeline (PBA) intends to redeem for cash all or part of its outstanding $300 million of senior unsecured series 19 medium-term notes due June 22, 2026. Its shares eased 0.1%.

The BP (BP) refinery fire that killed two brothers in 2022 at the Toledo, Ohio, plant was the "last in a series of cascading events" that began about 24 hours before, according to the US Chemical Safety Board's final report into the incident. BP shares fell 1.1%.

Sempra (SRE) shares added 0.9% after the company and Aramco said their subsidiaries signed a nonbinding heads of agreement for the Port Arthur LNG phase 2 expansion project.

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