Energy stocks were lower Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index decreasing 0.6% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) shedding 0.5%.
The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index fell 1.3%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index was down 0.4%.
Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil increased 0.9% to $76.72 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract added 0.7% to $79.50 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures fell 2.3% to $3.17 per 1 million BTU.
In corporate news, Exxon Mobil (XOM) has a preliminary deal to supply liquefied natural gas to South Africa, Bloomberg reported. Exxon shares were down 0.2%.