MW: Natural-gas spike fuels energy stocks’ gains
By Jim Jelter, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Energy stocks headed higher Thursday, boosted by a sudden spike in natural-gas prices.
A bullish weekly U.S. inventories report on gas in storage and news that Tropical Storm Ernesto has forced ports and production platforms to shut down off the eastern coast of Mexico gave a jolt to gas futures, pushing the September contract NGU2 +4.71% 5.5% higher at $3.10 per million British thermal units.
Natural-gas prices, coming off a 10-year low set in April, have jumped 30% since mid-June.
Shares of Southwestern Energy Co. SWN +2.92% traded up 3%, leading a 1.2% gain by the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index XX:XNG +0.71% . Other notable advancers in the group include Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. COG +2.20% and Range Resources Corp. RRC +1.69% , both up about 2%.
Oil was also lending support to the sector.
September crude-oil futures CLU2 +0.30% again teased $94 a barrel in New York, resuming their advance from earlier this week on positive economic news from China and concerns that Ernesto might also disrupt production on fields off the Gulf Coast. Read the latest on oil futures.
Anadarko Petroleum Corp. APC +0.55% , after opening lower, snapped back to lead gainers in the NYSE Oil Index XX:XOI -0.23% on a 0.9% gain, helping the group shake off a listless open.
Shares of Exxon Mobil Corp. XOM -0.54% traded up 0.1% at $87.79, making its heavy weighting felt in the oil index.
Energy stocks in the S&P 500 index SPX -0.16% were up on average by 0.7%, making the sector the equity benchmark’s second-best performer after materials.
A 2.8% gain in shares of Lufkin Industries LUFK +3.22% helped lift the Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index OSX +0.75% 1.5% higher to 228 points.
Jim Jelter is Industrials Editor for MarketWatch in San Francisco.
