Energy stocks advanced Thursday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) each adding about 0.4%.
The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index climbed up 1.4%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index increased 0.2%.
Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 3.8% to $92.37 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract dropped 3.2% to $94.72 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures rose 4.5% to $3.36 per 1 million BTU.
In corporate news, Murphy Oil (MUR) shares rose 3% after KeyBanc upgraded the stock to overweight from sector weight.