#Nuclear #Stocks #Slump #Regulator #Blocks #Data #Center #Deal
Key takeaways
- The S&P 500 fell 0.3% on Monday, November 4, as stocks struggled to find their footing in the final trading session before the presidential election.
- Shares of nuclear power generators fell after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rejected Talen’s deal to provide power for Amazon’s data centers.
- Belarus’s president proposed cutting potash production, which helped boost shares of Mosaic and other fertilizer producers.
Major US stock indexes fell on Tuesday, the last market session before Election Day. Aside from pivotal political developments, the trading week will include the Federal Reserve’s interest rate announcement on Thursday and the latest series of corporate earnings reports.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index closed 0.3% lower as voters prepared to head to the polls. The Nasdaq index also fell by 0.3%, while the Dow Jones lost 0.6%.
Shares of power generator Constellation Energy (CEG) fell 12.5%, the most of any stock in the S&P 500, as a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission decision raised questions about the nuclear power industry. The regulator has reportedly rejected a deal between Amazon (AMZN) and Tallinn Nuclear Generator (TLN), citing a potential negative impact on nearby customers if Tallinn allocates additional power from its nuclear facility to power the e-commerce and cloud computing giant’s data centre. . Similar regulatory scrutiny could fall on a deal Constellation Energy signed last month that will see the company restart a shuttered nuclear unit in Pennsylvania to provide power to Microsoft’s (MSFT) data centers.
Headwinds facing nuclear generators also weighed on shares of New Jersey-based Public Service Group (PEG), which fell 6.2%. In addition to industry pressures, the company reported mixed third-quarter results, falling short of earnings expectations but beating higher expectations. Although the company has benefited from higher energy margins and tax breaks, it now expects to exceed its initial capital plan for the full year.
United Airlines (UAL) shares fell 4.0%, reversing some of the company’s strong gains in October. While the bullish sentiment around the airline industry is centered on timely capacity reductions over the summer, a rise in crude oil futures prices on Monday and the possibility of higher fuel costs may have contributed to pressure on United shares.
Shares of fertilizer giant Mosaic (MOS) rose 5.4% on Monday, the highest daily performance in the S&P 500, after reports that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko proposed cutting potash production levels in an attempt to boost prices of the key crop nutrient. Any improvement in prices would be welcome news for Mosaic, which has warned that operational issues could constrain potash production and shipping volumes during the quarter.
Shares of Sherwin-Williams (SHW) jumped 4.6% after news emerged that the paint maker’s shares would be included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), replacing chemical giant Dow Inc. (DOW) on the 30 Blue Stock Price Weighted Index. chip companies, before the start of trading on Friday. S&P Dow Jones Indices also announced that AI chip giant Nvidia (NVDA) will replace Intel (INTC) in the DJIA. Inclusion in such a widely followed index can boost stock prices as index-tracking funds buy shares.
#Nuclear #Stocks #Slump #Regulator #Blocks #Data #Center #Deal
