Wall Street rallied Monday, March 26, as investor fears of a trade war apparently eased somewhat. Most energy equities shared in the rebound.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 2.84% to close the day at 24,202.60, and the S&P 500 grew 2.72% to finish at 2,658.55.
Among independent power producers, Dynegy Inc. stock increased 2.90% in light trading to close at $13.47 and NextEra Energy Partners' shares gained 2.05% to end at $41.24 on below-average volume.
Moody's changed its ratings outlook for AES Corp. to positive from stable, citing the company's ongoing efforts to reduce its business risk as well as its progress on a number of under-construction projects. AES shares inched up 1.12% to finish at $10.84 on thin volume.
In the renewable sector, SunPower Corp. saw its shares jump 6.46% on slim volume to close at $8.24, First Solar Inc. rose 4.77% to finish the day at $74.02 on low volume and Sunrun Inc. shares climbed 3.56% in heavy trading to wrap up the session at $8.73.
In midstream, Phillips 66 Partners LP stock gained 0.13% on below-average volume to close at $47.06, QEP Resources Inc. shares advanced 2.52% on light volume to finish at $9.76 and Spectra Energy Partners LP stock ticked up 2.35% to end a robust session at $33.09.
Suburban Propane Partners LP shares retreated 1.90% to finish at $22.18 on high volume and Rice Midstream Partners LP units gave away 1.36% to close an average session at $18.17.
Among top performers in electric and diversified utilities, PNM Resources Inc. shares spiked 2.47% to close at $37.35 on thin volume and Great Plains Energy Inc.'s stock price added 2.27% in robust trading to close at $30.66.
Entergy Corp. stock added 1.02% to end a slow session at $78.14. Its subsidiary Entergy Mississippi Inc. announced plans to convert into a Texas corporation from a Mississippi corporation. Additionally, its Louisiana utility closed the sale of $750 million of 4% collateral trust mortgage bonds due March 15, 2033.
Exelon Corp. shares climbed 1.03% to close a light session at $38.10. Exelon's five utilities issued a joint request for proposals seeking a combined unforced capacity of 600 MW.
The coal sector had a profitable session as well with top performers including Peabody Energy Corp., Arch Coal Inc. and CNX Resources Corporation.
Peabody's share price increased 2.32% on slightly above-average volume to close at $38.77. Arch Coal added 2.27% to finish at $93.30 and CNX Resources shares hiked 1.88% to end the day at $15.70, both on light volumes.
April natural gas futures reversed early losses to finish on the plus side of the ledger as options expired at the close of business and with the April contract set to roll off the board at the March 27 settle. While sinking to a $2.565/MMBtu low, the contract closed 2.7 cents higher at $2.618/MMBtu.
Market prices and index values are current as of the time of publication and are subject to change.