U.S. equities made gains on Friday, Dec. 8, as favorable employment data buoyed markets.
The Labor Department reported Dec. 8 that nonfarm payroll employment increased by 228,000 in November as the unemployment rate held steady at 4.1%. This virtually ensures that the Federal Reserve will raise rates another 25 basis points in December, economists said.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.49% to settle at 24,329.16, while the S&P 500 closed up 0.55% to end the day at 2,651.50.
In the energy sector, gas and diversified utilities resisted the general upward trend while midstream companies clocked the highest gains.
Shares of Phillips 66 climbed 1.73% on brisk volume to settle at $99.55, following the announcement of its $3.25 billion capital program for 2018, with nearly 60% of that amount funding growth projects. The company plans to spend $1.93 billion on growth projects during the year, of which 51.9%, or $1 billion will fund projects in its natural gas liquids and transportation businesses.
Among other large-cap midstream companies, Enterprise Products Partners LP gained 1.01% on above-average volume to $24.94, Kinder Morgan Inc. advanced 2.48% in robust trading to $17.79, while Energy Transfer Equity LP retreated 1.23% in light trading to $16.07.
Tellurian Inc. shares plunged 17.85% in about 13 times the average volume to finish at $9.85. The company priced its offering of 10,000,000 common shares at $10.00 apiece for total gross proceeds of $100 million.
LINN Energy Inc. closed its divestiture of Williston Basin assets to the Oklahoma-based exploration and production company Valorem Energy LLC for $285 million. The company closed the trading session 1.07% lower on light volume to $37.00.
On the power front, TransAlta Corp. shares declined 2.01% on strong volume to finish at C$7.82 on the Toronto exchange. Alberta's Balancing Pool confirmed ENMAX Corp.'s entitlement to terminate its power purchase arrangement with TransAlta-owned 792-MW Keephills coal power plant in the province.
PNM Resources Inc. ticked up 0.67% in active trading to end at $45.10, after initiating ongoing earnings guidance of $1.70 to $1.80 per diluted share for 2018 and $2.00 to $2.16 per diluted share for 2019.
CONSOL Energy Inc. shares spiked 6.37% in brisk trading to close at $25.37. CEO James Brock assumed the additional role of president after Katharine Fredriksen stepped down, effective Dec. 4.
In other coal shares, Rhino Resource Partners LP slumped 21.15% in robust trading to $2.05, Westmoreland Resource Partners LP declined 3.90% on heavy volume to $2.60, while Ramaco Resources Inc. rose 1.86% on thin volume to $4.93.
NYMEX January 2018 natural gas struggled to hold gains in the week's closing session. While advancing early to a $2.820/MMBtu high, the contract finished just 0.9 cent higher at $2.772/MMBtu.
Market prices and index values are current as of the time of publication and are subject to change.
