Energy stocks were lower late Friday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index down 0.9% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) shedding 1.2%.
The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index was decreasing 0.7%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index was down 0.7%.
Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 1.5% to $87.60 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract dropped 1.8% to $92.05 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures climbed 5% to $3.04 per 1 million BTU.
In corporate news, Sempra (SRE) is being urged by activist investor Voss Capital to spin off its Oncor electricity unit, Reuters reported. Voss Capital, which owns less than 1% of Sempra, has argued that a newly independent Oncor Electric Delivery Co. would become the highest-growth public transmission utility in the US and could be worth up to $78 billion by the end of 2028, the report said. Sempra shares were down 1.5%.