Energy stocks were higher Tuesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index rising 1.3% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) adding 1.4%.
The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index was climbing 2.4%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index was up 2%.
Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil was rising 1.6% to $93.59 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract was advancing 1.1% to $96.03 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures decreased 0.7% to $3.16 per 1 million BTU.
In sector news, President Donald Trump said he believes a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and extend the ceasefire with Iran is reachable "over the next week," CNN reported. Lebanese authorities said Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militant group, agreed to a US proposal for a ceasefire with Israel in which strikes on Beirut would stop, the news report said. Trump declared Israeli forces would not move on Beirut after a call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, it added.
In corporate news, Bloom Energy (BE) doesn't currently see a need to raise capital through share sales despite surging demand for its fuel-cell technology from AI data centers, Bloomberg reported, citing CEO K. R. Sridhar. The company, which recently signed a deal with Oracle (ORCL) to supply up to 2.8 gigawatts of power for data centers, can recover the cost of building new manufacturing capacity within six months via sales, Sridhar told the news outlet. Bloom Energy shares jumped 10%.
BP (BP) has asked senior independent director Amanda Blanc to lead the search for the company's next chair despite concerns from some investors and City figures following the departure of former chairperson Albert Manifold, the Financial Times reported. BP shares were up 1%.
Hallador Energy (HNRG) shares added 0.7%. The company said late Monday it has agreed to acquire about 460 megawatts of Siemens gas turbines, generators and related equipment from Energy World for $350 million to back development of Hallador's Merom natural gas-fired combustion turbine project.