Energy stocks were higher Thursday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index rising 0.9% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) up 0.6%.
The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index added 0.5%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index climbed 1.5%.
Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil decreased 0.4% to $68.28 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract declined 0.3% to $71.38 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures rose 0.6% to $3.20 per 1 million BTU.
In corporate news, Chevron (CVX) continues to offer positive risk-reward as declining capital intensity across key upstream projects and emerging opportunities across its portfolio strengthen the company's long-term outlook, RBC Capital Markets said in a note. RBC maintained its outperform rating on Chevron and $220 price target. Chevron shares were up 1.8%.