Energy stocks gained late Tuesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index rising 1.1% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) adding 1.7%.
The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index was falling 1%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index shed 0.3%.
Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 0.6% to $85.04 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract added 0.2% to $91.06 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures gained 3.4% to $2.78 per 1 million BTU.
In corporate news, Equinor (EQNR) shares added 0.3% after it said Tuesday it signed an agreement with Chevron's (CVX) Harmattan Energy unit to acquire a 17.4% stake in Petroleum Exploration License 90 in the Orange Basin offshore Namibia. Chevron shares were rising 1.4%.