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Sector Update: Energy Stocks Advance Late Afternoon

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Energy stocks rose late Thursday afternoon with the NYSE Energy Sector Index increasing 0.9% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) gaining 0.4%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index slid 0.4%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index shed 0.5%.

Oil prices rose after President Donald Trump threatened economic retaliation on Iran and its trade partners.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil gained 2.3% to $87.83 a barrel, and global benchmark Brent advanced 2.2% to $93.65 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures fell 1.9% to $2.76 per 1 million BTU.

In sector news, US natural gas stocks rose by 16 billion cubic feet in the week ended Friday, topping the 14 billion gain expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg and following an increase of 36 billion in the previous week.

Deutsche Bank (DB) has made several hires as part of a plan to rebuild its energy trading business after largely exiting the commodities sector over a decade ago, Bloomberg reported.

In corporate news, Exxon Mobil (XOM) warned that Kazakhstan's Tengiz oil field is nearing peak production and that output will fall sharply over the coming decade, Bloomberg reported, citing a company presentation. Exxon shares rose 1.1%.

Transocean (RIG) shares climbed 2.7%. The company secured a two-year contract with ONGC for its Dhirubhai Deepwater KG2 drillship, with work expected to begin in Q1 2027 and contribute about $300 million.

Equinor (EQNR) shares gained 2%. The company agreed to sell crude oil to Poland's Orlen for three years from the Johan Sverdrup field on the Norwegian continental shelf, starting in September.

Cactus (WHD) shares fell 5.9% after Citigroup downgraded the stock to neutral from buy and raised its price target to $75 from $67.

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