BUZZ-Nuclear power firms climb as Trump doubles down on energy policy

Shares of nuclear power firms jump premarket after U.S. President Donald Trump issued a flurry of orders intended to boost energy production after his inauguration on Monday

Chris Wright, Trump's pick to head the U.S. Energy Department, said he would prioritize U.S. oil and gas, and nuclear power production last week

Wright supports some fossil fuel alternatives such as small nuclear power reactors, which are not yet commercially available

Vistra rises VST.N 5.9%, NuScale Power SMR.N up 6.3% and Nano Nuclear Energy NNE.O gains 6.3%

Constellation Energy CEG.O up 1.7%, Centrus Energy LEU.N up 2.9%

Wright is currently CEO of oilfield service company Liberty Energy LBRT.N, which is up 3.9%

He is also a director at Sam Altman-backed nuclear startup Oklo Inc OKLO.N, which is up 6%

Trump declared a national energy emergency; picks for his cabinet are expected to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate this week

(Reporting by Medha Singh)

((medha.singh@thomsonreuters.com))