Shares of power producers fell as investors rotated into sectors with more to gain from a prolonged period of inflation and rising interest rates.
Utility Duke Energy initially rose after activist investment firm Elliott Management urged the company to consider separating into three companies, saying the utility giant's disparate businesses result in its shares trading at a "conglomerate discount." Duke, whose shares finished slightly lower, distributes electricity to nearly eight million customers in six states including the Carolinas, some Midwestern states, and Florida. In another business line, Duke distributes natural gas to 1.6 million customers in Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and the Carolinas.
Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
05-17-21 1750ET
