01:35 PM EDT, 08/29/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks climbed Thursday afternoon with the NYSE Energy Sector Index rising 1% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) gaining 1.5%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector index gained 1.7%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities index was up 0.5%.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 1.7% to $75.77 a barrel, while global benchmark Brent advanced 1.5% to $79.80 a barrel.

US natural gas stocks rose 35 billion cubic feet in the week ended Friday, matching both the previous week and expectations in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

Henry Hub natural gas futures rose 1.8% to $2.13 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, ONEOK ( OKE ) said late Wednesday it agreed to buy Global Infrastructure Partners' interest in EnLink Midstream ( ENLC ) and GIP's equity interests in Medallion Midstream for a combined 5.9 billion to expand in the Mid-Continent region, north Texas and Louisiana. ONEOK ( OKE ) shares rose 2.5%, and EnLink jumped 8.6%.