Energy stocks were mostly higher this afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index rising 0.3% while the SPDR Energy Select Sector ETF (XLE) was off less than 0.1%. The Philadelphia Oil-Service Sector index was posting a 2% advance and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index was adding 0.4%.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil was rising $2.18 to $96.07 per barrel while North Sea Brent crude also was advancing $2.10 to $102.13 per barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures were $0.48 lower at $7.81 per 1 million BTU.
In company news, Transocean (RIG) rose nearly 20% after late Monday saying it received a two-year contract, valued at about $321 million, for its Deepwater Conqueror ultra-deepwater drillship from an unnamed major operator for work in the US Gulf of Mexico. The company also said a national oil company has contracted its Petrobras 10000 deepwater rig for work offshore Brazil beginning in October 2023 and extending through August 2029. The second contract adds an estimated $915 million backlog, the company said.
Equitrans Midstream (ETRN) raced nearly 13% higher after the pipeline company forecast FY22 net income in a range of $255 million to $325 million compared with the Capital IQ consensus expecting $255.2 million in GAAP earnings and a non-GAAP profit this year of $287.4 million.
Cummins (CMI) rose 2% after the diesel- and natural gas-powered engines company reported Q2 net income of $4.94 per share, improving on a $4.10 per share profit during the same quarter last year and easily topping the Capital IQ consensus by $0.57 per share. Net sales grew 7.9% year-over-year to $6.59 billion, also exceeding the $6.48 billion Street view.
