Utilities stocks settled lower on Friday, June 1, while broader markets gained following a positive employment outlook. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.90% to close at 24,635.21, while the S&P 500 picked up 1.08% to settle the day at 2,734.62.
According to a draft addendum to a pending order, the U.S. Department of Energy may direct grid operators to buy power or capacity from designated coal-fired and nuclear plants for two years. The S&P 500 Utilities Sector ended 1.54% lower to 253.02.
Exelon Corp. shed 0.97% on brisk volume to finish at $40.99, after announcing several management changes. Meanwhile, Duke Energy Corp. lost 1.40% in below-average trading to close at $76.08, after its subsidiary Duke Energy Carolinas LLC reached a settlement agreement on proposed grid investments.
Among other utilities, PG&E Corp. slid 2.45% on weak volume to $42.27; NextEra Energy Inc. declined 1.65% on about average volume to $163.08; and Sempra Energy retreated 2.09% in strong trading to $104.30. FirstEnergy Corp., which has advocated strongly for federal assistance for several of its power plants, dropped 0.64% to $34.20 on light volume.
Coal companies responded favorably to the potential DOE action. Peabody Energy Corp. rose 4.81% in brisk trading to end at $45.35; Arch Coal Inc. climbed 2.01% in active trading to close at $83.81; and Cloud Peak Energy Inc. advanced 4.14% on heavy volume to finish at $3.77.
SM Energy Co. plummeted 11.49% in robust trading to finish at $23.19. The company has closed its $292.3 million sale of assets in Divide County, N.D., marking the oil and gas producer's exit from the Williston Basin of North Dakota.
Schlumberger Ltd. advanced 0.42% to $68.96, after it withdrew from its OneLNG joint venture with Golar LNG Ltd. and Ophir Energy PLC due to financing issues for the Fortuna floating LNG project in Equatorial Guinea, Golar said.
Among oil and gas majors, Marathon Petroleum Corp. added 3.66% on strong volume to settle at $81.92, and Phillips 66 was up 2.15% on above-average volume to close at $119.00, while Concho Resources Inc. slumped 5.90% on more than double average volume to finish at $129.21. The S&P 500 Energy Sector rose 0.54% to 561.37.
Market prices and index values are current as of the time of publication and are subject to change.
