Utility stocks up on heat wave
BY MarketWatch Equity 11:02 AM ET 07/02/2012
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Utility stocks rose Monday as hot weather gripped the eastern U.S. for the fourth day. The Philadelphia Utility Index rose 0.4%, despite losses in the broad equities market. Southern Co. (SO) rose 0.7%, Exelon Co. rose 0.1%, PPL Corp. (PPL) rose 0.8%, GenOn Energy rose 0.9%, Dominion Resources Inc. (D) gained 0.4%, and First Energy rose 0.7%. On the down side, Public Service Enterprise Group (PEG) fell 0.1% and NextEra Energy (NEE) moved down by 0.3%. The heat is driving up use of electric-powered air conditioners throughout the Northeast.
