Energy stocks advanced late Thursday afternoon with the NYSE Energy Sector Index rising 0.8% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) adding 0.9%.
The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index gained 2.3%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index increased 0.8%.
In sector news, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps attacked a Singapore-flagged ship on Thursday in the Strait of Hormuz, damaging the vessel's bridge while causing no casualties, the Wall Street Journal reported.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 2.9% to $72.27 a barrel, and global benchmark Brent added 2.7% to $75.75 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures gained 2.2% to $3.29 per 1 million BTU.
In corporate news, Eco Wave Power Global (WAVE) shares rose 7.3% after the company priced an offering of 400,000 American depositary shares to an institutional investor at $10 apiece for gross proceeds of $4 million.