Energy stocks were higher Monday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index rising 0.7% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) adding 0.9%.
The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index was 0.2% higher, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index was decreasing 0.6%.
Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 1% to $83.25 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract added 1.3% to $89.63 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures fell 1.6% to $2.69 per 1 million BTU.
In geopolitical news, President Donald Trump warned Oman of attacks on the day a deadline to reach a permanent peace deal with Iran expired. Monday marks 60 days since the US and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding that called for a wider peace deal to be negotiated within that timeframe, CBS News reported. On the same day, Trump threatened to bomb Oman if the country "gets in the way" of US efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the war with Iran, CBS cited Fox News.
Earlier, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman said Tehran had reached an agreement with Oman regarding future shipping routes in the strait, according to the CBS report. That being said, Iran has decided to shift its policy from defensive to "fully offensive" due to the deadlock in efforts to agree a permanent end to its war with the US, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Monday.
In corporate news, Chevron (CVX) said Monday that its Cabinda Gulf Oil unit has made an oil and gas condensate discovery offshore Angola. The company said the well, which was drilled in the Lower Congo Basin, reached an oil and gas condensate column of more than 600 meters with more than 90 meters of net pay in reservoir quality rock. Chevron shares rose 1.4%.
Palantir (PLTR) Co-Founder Peter Thiel has acquired over 1.1 million American depositary shares in Vista Energy (VIST) worth about $75.9 million, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Vista Energy shares climbed 4.3%.
Equinor (EQNR) agreed to acquire 88% of Lackawanna Energy Center's Class A shares for $940 million from funds managed by BlackRock's (BLK) Global Infrastructure Partners. Equinor shares rose 2.1%.