Energy stocks gained Wednesday afternoon with the NYSE Energy Sector Index rising 1.2% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) adding 1.8%.
The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index advanced 0.1%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index climbed 0.2%.
Crude oil futures rose as Iran struck Gulf nations Kuwait and Bahrain with missiles amid faltering diplomacy with Washington, the Wall Street Journal reported. Kuwait came under a barrage of ballistic missiles and drones on Wednesday that shut its international airport, killed one person, and injured dozens more, the report said.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil climbed 2.6% to $96.19 a barrel, and global benchmark Brent rose 2.2% to $98.08 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures increased 2.2% to $3.24 per 1 million BTU.
US crude oil stocks, including those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, fell 16 million barrels in the week ended Friday following a decrease of 12.4 million in the previous week. Excluding inventories in the SPR, commercial crude oil stocks declined 8 million barrels after a drop of 3.3 million in the previous week, larger than the 3.1 million fall expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.
In corporate news, Xcel Energy's (XEL) Colorado utility unit reached a non-unanimous settlement agreement in its electric rate case before the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, and the company reaffirmed its 2026 EPS guidance of $4.04 to $4.16. The stock rose 0.6%.
Obsidian Energy (OBE) agreed to acquire Belly River light oil assets in the Wilson Creek area of Willesden Green from Highwood Asset Management for an unadjusted purchase price of 105 million Canadian dollars ($75.8 million). Obsidian shares fell 0.2%.
Opal Fuels (OPAL) and GFL Environmental (GFL) said construction is advancing on two renewable natural gas facilities at the Stones Throw Landfill in Alabama and the Grady Road Landfill in Georgia. Opal shares fell 1.1%.