Benchmark indices closed the Friday, Sept. 20 trading session slightly lower following losses in major tech companies and worries that trade talks between the U.S. and China have stalled.
Reports said that a Chinese agricultural delegation canceled plans to visit farms in Montana as a part of its negotiations with the U.S.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.59% to 26,935.07 and the S&P 500 decreased by 0.49% to 2,992.07.
Broader energy markets, in contrast, ran counter to the downturn in equities and closed the Friday session on firm ground.
The S&P 500 Energy Sector closed the session up 0.08% to 452.25, while the Alerian MLP Index ended the day with a 0.14% increase to 240.45.
Posting significant gains for the session was McDermott International Inc. which advanced 27.22% in more than 17x average volume to close at $2.01. The company said it was considering a recent unsolicited bid to acquire all or part of its Lummus Technology LLC business.
Other gainers included Marathon Petroleum Corp. which added 2.19% in brisk trading to finish at $55.10, and Range Resources Corp., whose shares increased by 1.72% in above-average volume to close at $4.74. Oilfield service provider Baker Hughes a GE company posted a 1.64% increase on more than twice the average volume to exit the session at $23.59. Conversely, Halliburton Co. shares slipped by 2.29% in average trading to $20.44.
Occidental Petroleum Corp. slid 0.20% on below-average volume to close at $45.70. The company said its board will propose amendments on shareholder rights at their 2020 annual meeting that include lowering the threshold needed to call a special meeting of stockholders.
TC Energy Corporation added 1.53% in below-average trading on the New York Stock Exchange to reach $51.70, following an announcement that the company shut its Marketlink oil pipeline from the Cushing, Okla., hub to Nederland, Texas, due to flash floods caused by Tropical Depression Imelda.
Other midstream and pipeline companies also rose. Antero Midstream Corp. saw a 2.08% increase in 6x average volume, finishing the week at $7.35. Magellan Midstream Partners LP units were up 1.78% in more than 4x average volume, at $67.36. Enterprise Products Partners LP nudged 1.18% higher in above-average trading to close at $29.14.
On the flip side, Shell Midstream Partners LP tumbled by 3.40% on heavy volume to exit the week at $20.47.
Electric and diversified utilities also edged higher, as the S&P 500 Utilities Sector added 0.37% to close at 324.08.
Among gainers were Exelon Corp. which added 1.36% in above-average volume to close at $48.45, and Sempra Energy, whose shares rose 1.00% in average trading to $142.22. CenterPoint Energy Inc. shares climbed 0.97% on below-average volume to close at $30.33. Beleaguered California utility parent PG&E Corp.'s shares tumbled 4.84% in above-average trade to $11.61 after bondholders and wildfire victims asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California to allow their alternative bankruptcy exit plan to proceed.
FirstEnergy Corp. slid 1.50% in more than 3x average volume to exit the week at $47.39. Mizuho Securities USA LLC downgraded FirstEnergy to "neutral" from "buy" as it raised the company's price target to $48.50 from $46.
Coal companies and renewable energy firms also ticked lower overall during the Friday session.
Peabody Energy Corp. tumbled 8.98% in brisk trade to $15.50 after the firm terminated its previously announced tender offers to purchase $1 billion in outstanding notes and concluded its refinancing activities. Arch Coal Inc. shares fell 5.33% in twice the average volume to settle at $71.94.
Among solar companies, SunPower Corp. slid 2.58% in light trading to $14.70. The firm filed an automatic shelf registration for the potential sale of an unspecified amount of securities.
Vivint Solar Inc. shares were down 1.89% in average trading, closing the session at $7.78
Market prices and index values are current as of the time of publication and are subject to change.
