Energy equities saw bigger losses than broader markets on Friday, Jan. 11, in tandem with oil prices which settled lower.
Broad indexes finished the daily virtually unchanged from the previous day, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.02% to 23,995.95, and the S&P 500 decreasing 0.01% to 2,596.26.
Brent crude declined 1.69% to $60.64, and Light Sweet crude retreated 1.69% to $51.70.
PG&E Corp. dropped 0.96% in brisk trading to finish at $17.59. California utility regulators agreed to examine how to divide the costs of wildfire liability between utilities and ratepayers, and it will likely have the biggest impact on PG&E subsidiary Pacific Gas and Electric Co.
Among Wall Street analysts, there is no clear sentiment as to whether PG&E will seek bankruptcy protection to offset billions of dollars in potential liabilities from California's catastrophic wildfires.
Among other electric and diversified utilities, Dominion Energy Inc. shed 2.85% in active trading to end at $69.85, and NiSource Inc. declined 1.05% on slightly below-volume to settle at $26.39.
The S&P 500 Utilities Sector retreated 0.44% to 270.25.
In the oil and gas sector, EQT Corp. shares saw a 2.93% increase on light volume to end at $20.37.
Investment firm D.E. Shaw & Co. LP, which owns a 4.5% stake in EQT, and other major investors are united in wanting EQT's board and management overhauled, portfolio manager Quentin Koffey wrote in a Jan. 11 letter to the board.
Schlumberger Ltd. advanced 0.22% to close at $41.74, while Halliburton Co. declined 0.55% to end at $30.70, both on average volume. Analysts expect both companies to report lower earnings quarter over quarter, and slight improvements for the full-year results.
Targa Resources Corp. unit Targa Resources Partners LP upsized its recently announced offering of senior notes to $1.5 billion. Targa Resources lost 1.75% in brisk trading to $42.08, while its partnership increased 0.89% in light trading to $26.03.
The S&P 500 Energy Sector dipped 0.63% to close at 458.28, and the Alerian MLP Index shed 1.20% to finish at 245.50.
Market prices and index values are current as of the time of publication and are subject to change.