Morning Commentary: Preferred market stays strong ahead of holiday; energy names bounce with oil

By Stephanie N. Rotondo

Seattle, Dec. 23 – Preferred stocks remained firm just ahead of Christmas Eve, but it was slow-going in terms of overall liquidity.

The Wells Fargo Hybrid and Preferred Securities index was up 15 basis points at mid-morning.

Oil and gas-linked preferreds were even rebounding in Wednesday trading, following the American Petroleum Institute’s inventory report out Tuesday.

Breitburn Energy Partners LP’s 8.25% series A cumulative redeemable perpetual preferred units (Nasdaq: BBEPP), for instance, were up 52 cents, or 11.04%, at $5.23. Legacy Reserves LP’s 8% series B fixed-to-floating rate cumulative redeemable perpetual preferred units (Nasdaq: LGCYO) were up 59 cents, or 11.22%, at $5.85.

Those gains came as domestic crude improved nearly 2.5% early in the session, trading north of $37 a barrel.

The strength was due to API’s latest report, which indicated that oil inventories declined by 3.6 million barrels last week. Analysts had forecast a build of 1.1 million barrels.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.