-- Energy stocks fell Wednesday with the NYSE Energy Sector Index slumping 3.9% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) dropping 4.1%.
The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index shed 2%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index dropped 1.5%.
Crude prices fell Wednesday amid prospects of a diplomatic breakthrough between the US and Iran.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil tumbled 7.1% to $95.03 a barrel, and global benchmark Brent slumped 7.9% to $101.15 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures fell 2.5% to $2.72 per 1 million BTU.
US crude oil stocks, including those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, fell 7.5 million barrels in the week ended Friday following a decrease of 13.4 million in the previous week. Excluding inventories in the SPR, commercial crude oil stocks dropped 2.3 million barrels after a decline of 6.2 million in the previous week, compared with the decrease of 3.4 million expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.
In corporate news, Spire (SR) shares fell 4% after the company's fiscal Q2 operating revenue came in below analysts' expectations.
Vermilion Energy (VET) reported a Q1 loss following a year-earlier profit. The shares dropped 13%.
Equinor (EQNR) shares tumbled 8% after the firm reported Q1 revenue that fell more than Wall Street expected.