01:23 PM EST, 12/04/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were in the red Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index falling about 2% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) dropping 2.7%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector index declined 2.8%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities index shed 0.3%.

US crude oil stocks, including those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, fell by 3.6 million barrels in the week ended Nov. 29 following a decrease of 700,000 barrels in the previous week. Excluding inventories in the SPR, commercial crude oil stocks fell by 5.1 million barrels after a 1.8-million-barrel decline in the previous week, compared with the 1.8-million-barrel decrease expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil was declining 1.7% to $68.78 a barrel while the global benchmark Brent crude contract was dropping 1.4% to $72.58 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures added 0.2% to $3.05 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, TotalEnergies (TTE) said Wednesday it signed an agreement to buy VSB from Partners Group for 1.57 billion euros ($1.65 billion). Separately, Apollo Global Management ( APO ) said Wednesday that funds managed by its affiliates have agreed to acquire a 50% stake in TotalEnergies' Texas solar and battery energy storage system portfolio. TotalEnergies shares fell 0.9% and Apollo added 0.5%.