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.

0814 GMT – Shell’s first quarter update was interesting, with several developments coming in better than expected, ING says. The oil-and-gas company’s LNG volumes beat forecasts as the troublesome Prelude and QGC plants were ahead of expectations, and chemicals and refineries did even better, ING analyst Quirijn Mulder says in a research note. Chemicals margins were improved, though in practice margins still remain below $100 a ton, partially due to the slow ramp-up of the Pennsylvanian plant. “With the rest in line with expectations, we can foresee a good underlying first quarter but commodity prices under pressure will still show lower earnings,” the Dutch bank says. ING maintains its buy rating on the stock. Shares are up 2.1% at 2,412 pence. (joseph.hoppe@wsj.com)