Energy & Utilities Roundup: Market Talk

The latest Market Talks covering Energy and Utilities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.

1028 ET – Ongoing street protests in Senegal, triggered by president Macky Sall’s decision to postpone the presidential election will hurt the business environment in the upcoming oil and natural gas producing nation, says Karim Manuel, a country analyst with Economist Intelligence Unit. The turmoil risks unsettling Senegal’s economy, where Australia’s Woodside Energy Group is developing the $5.2 billion Sangomar oil field to supply energy hungry markets in Europe, as countries seek new supplies to replace imports from sanctioned Russian. “We expect heightened political instability and protracted protests in the coming months,” Manuel says in a note “The political environment will therefore be highly volatile and uncertain.. .Which will hurt business confidence.” ([email protected]; @Nicholasbariyo)

0922 ET – Crude oil futures are lower as the catalysts for last week’s solid gains—Mideast geopolitical risk premium and rising distillate fuel prices—ease at the start of the week. This week’s monthly reports from OPEC and the International Energy Agency could provide support for crude, Ritterbusch says in a report. “Any downward adjustment in demand expectations will likely be precluded by the strength in the U.S. economy and on the supply side, the agencies may emphasize a cut in OPEC production last month,” the firm says. WTI for March delivery is off 0.8% at $76.22 and April Brent is down 0.9% at $81.45. ([email protected])

0858 ET – Equinor’s capital distributions are expected to remain at lofty levels in 2024-2025 before normalising in 2026, but concerns on offshore wind profitability and rising renewables capex weighs on sentiment, HSBC analyst Kim Fustier writes. The 8% share price drop on the day of its earnings suggests that consensus expectations on shareholder returns were too high and that the market is wary of rising spending in renewables, the bank says. Green spending is set to rise from a low base to 25%-30% of total capex by 2030 and concerns around offshore wind’s profitability remain top of mind, HSBC says. HSBC retains its hold rating on Equinor and lowers its target price to NOK315 from NOK350. Shares trade 0.3% higher at NOK278.40. ([email protected])