03:25 PM EDT, 05/17/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were rising late Friday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index adding 1.2% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) climbing 1.4%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector index was up 0.7%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities index was shedding 0.2%.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 1.1% to $80.09 a barrel while the global benchmark Brent crude contract was advancing 0.9% to $83.99 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures spiked 5.8% to $2.64 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, FirstEnergy ( FE ) said Friday it has named Deandra Williams-Lewis as chief privacy officer, in addition to her current role as director of ethics and compliance. Its shares were easing 0.5%.