Technology, Energy Help Stocks Sustain Strong Start to 2018 Heating oil and natural gas prices have also climbed as severe cold gripped much of the U. S. Heating oil rose 3 cents to $2.09 a gallon, and it’s up 12 cents since Dec. 22. Energy company Scana, which plunged after it canceled a $9 billion nuclear project and started raising rates to cover its costs, jumped after Dominion Energy agreed to buy it for $7.9 billion in stock. Other chipmakers traded higher, but analysts weren’t sure the problem could threaten Intel’s sales Dominion Energy agreed to buy Scana in a deal that expands the Richmond, Virginia-based company’s business in the Carolinas. Intel slumped after British technology site The Register reported a security problem that affects Intel’s processors, and said fixing the problem could slow down computers that use them. Rising crude and heating oil prices also sent energy companies higher.
