Shares of energy companies rallied alongside oil futures as Omicron fears diminished and the Environmental Protection Agency tweaked ethanol standards for refiners.
Oil futures rose 3.7% to $72.06 a barrel, the second straight gain for the commodity. Natural gas futures rose 1.7%, a modest bounce after a 12% slide Monday.
The EPA proposed reducing the amount of ethanol and other biofuels that must be blended into gasoline this year and retroactively lowered last year's target.
Shares of refiners, which had warned that the targets would affect gasoline pricing, rose, with gains for Marathon Petroleum, Valero and others.
Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
12-07-21 1639ET
