US Jobs Help S&P 500 to Rise on July 6, Oil and Gas Also Rise

The S&P 500 rose ~0.85% to 2,759.82 on July 6, its highest level in two weeks. Better-than-expected US jobs data eased fears surrounding escalating trade tensions between the United States and China, which supported the index on July 6. All the key sectors in the S&P 500 advanced on the day.

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) rose ~0.85% to $275.42 on the day. SPY seeks to follow the S&P 500 Index’s performance. E-Mini S&P 500 futures rose 0.34% from the previous settlement in early morning trading on July 9.

The communication services, healthcare, and technology sectors rose 1.6%, 1.4%, and 1.2%, respectively, on July 6. These sectors supported SPY the most on the same day.

The energy sector, which accounts for ~6.34% of the S&P 500, rose 0.61% on July 6. The Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) rose ~0.61% to $75.67 on the same day. XLE represents the S&P 500 Index’s energy sector. 

However, Brent crude oil (BNO) futures fell ~0.4% to $77.11 per barrel on July 6. Prices dropped due to rises in production by Saudi Arabia and Russia. However, August WTI crude oil (USO) futures rose ~1.2% to $73.8 per barrel on the same day. Prices rose due to a supply outage in Canada. WTI oil prices were near their highest level since November 2014. August WTI crude oil futures rose 0.4% from their previous settlement in early morning trading on July 9.

August US natural gas (UNG) futures contracts rose 0.7% to $2.85 per MMBtu (million British thermal units) on July 6. Prices rose due to the lowest natural gas inventories for this time of year since 2014 and warmer-than-usual weather forecasts for the next two weeks. August US natural gas futures contracts fell 0.3% from their previous settlement in early morning trading on July 9.

In this series, we’ll discuss US natural gas inventories, production, consumption, exports, and price forecasts.