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Sector Update: Energy Stocks Advance in Afternoon Trading

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Energy stocks were higher Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index rising 0.4% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) increasing 0.1%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index was adding 0.6%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index was fractionally lower.

In geopolitical news, Iran has considered targeting US military assets in Europe, if President Donald Trump escalates the conflict, the Financial Times reported Wednesday, citing two sources close to the Iranian regime. Iranian forces have assessed potential targets in southeastern Europe, including US military assets in Bulgaria and Cyprus, according to the report. Tehran's forces have separately studied attacking subsea fiber optic cables in the crucial Strait of Hormuz, if there's an escalation in the conflict, the FT reported, citing the insiders.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 2.3% to $86.85 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract advanced 1.6% to $92.51 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures added 2.3% to $2.84 per 1 million BTU.

In sector news, US crude oil stocks, including the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, fell by 900,000 barrels in the week ended Aug. 14, following an increase of 11.3 million barrels in the week earlier. Excluding SPR inventories, commercial crude oil stocks rose by 4.4 million barrels compared with a 17.4-million-barrel gain in the week prior, and above the 200,000-barrel increase expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

In corporate news, BP (BP) has begun trading Venezuelan oil, with a tanker loading about 400,000 barrels of heavy fuel oil supplied by state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela for delivery to Houston, Bloomberg reported. BP shares rose 1.3%.

Energy Fuels (UUUU) shares gained 4.5% after it said Wednesday that terbium oxide produced at the White Mesa Mill in Utah has been qualified for commercial use by one of Japan's largest rare earth permanent magnet manufacturers.

FLEX LNG (FLNG) shares climbed 3.8% after it reported higher Q2 adjusted net income and revenue.

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