Big gain in oil prices on killing of Hamas leader in Iran

Crude oil prices said goodbye Wednesday to seven-week lows and rebounded nearly 3%—largely on the killing of a Hamas leader in Iran. Plus, there are the increased tensions in the Middle East over the attack, not to mention a sharp reduction in crude oil stockpiles across the U.S.

West Texas Intermediate crude gained $3.02 or 4.04% and settled at $77.75 a barrel.

The global benchmark, Brent crude went up $2.08 or 2.8% a barrel and finished at $80.71 on ICE Futures Europe.

 September natural gas fell 9 cents to $2.04 per 1,000 cubic feet.

For some Oklahoma energy stocks, it was a strong day in trading, including Empire Petroleum with a more than 8% gain for the day.

Other energy stocks were mixed for the day, according to the Texas Energy Report.

APA Corp. (Apache) (APA) up 0.16 at 31.19 – change 0.51%

Cheniere (LNG) up 0.76 at 182.64 – change

0.41%Chevron (CVX) up 0.90 at 160.47 – change 0.56%

ConocoPhillips (COP) up 1.29 at 111.20 – change 1.17%

Diamondback Energy (FANG) down 4.23 at 202.31 – change 2.13%

Energy Transfer LP (ET) up 0.06 at 16.27 – change 0.37%

Enterprise Products Partners (EPD) down 0.18 at 28.86 – change 0.61%

EOG Resources (EOG) up 0.65 at 126.80 – change 0.51%

Exxon Mobil (XOM) up 0.42 at 118.59 – change 0.35%

Kinder Morgan (KMI) down 0.31 at 21.13 – change 1.42%

Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) up 0.41 at 28.05 – change 1.48%

NOV Inc. (NOV) up 0.36 at 20.82 – change 1.75%

Occidental Petroleum (OXY) up 0.55 at 60.82 – change 0.91%

Phillips 66 (PSX) down 1.69 at 145.47 – change 1.15%

Tellurian Inc. (TELL) down 0.01 at 0.92 – change 0.53%

Valero (VLO) down 1.76 at 161.72 – change 1.08%

CLOSING TOP UTILITY STOCKS

American Electric Power (AEP) own 0.02 at 98.12 – change 0.03%

CenterPoint (CNP) down 0.76 at 27.75 – change 2.67%

Entergy (ETR) down 0.37 at 115.97 – change 0.32%