Shares in the utilities sector rose as investors weighed expectations that the Federal Reserve's next move could be a hike after the central bank held rates steady in the first meeting led by Kevin Warsh.
U.S. natural gas futures settled higher as a weekly inventory report landed at the low end of market expectations, leaving the storage surplus unchanged from the previous week. The injection into storage was well below the previous week's 108 Bcf build.
"A jump in air-conditioning needs across key population centers led to the strongest power generation demand of the season so far, representing the primary driver of an implied week-over-week tightening of 5 Bcf per day," Andy Huenefeld of Pinebrook Energy Advisors said. Storage builds are likely to trend lower as normal temperatures rise into the peak of summer, Huenefeld said.
Nymex natural gas settles up 2.8% at $3.233/mmBtu.
Write to Patrick Sullivan at patrick.sullivan@wsj.com
