01:46 PM EDT, 07/02/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were higher Thursday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index rising 0.9% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) up 0.5%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index added 0.2%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index climbed 1.5%.

The Doha discussions between the US and Iran produced "positive progress" on issues related to the memorandum that halted the war in June and were "building on the outcomes" from the Switzerland summit, a Qatar Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a post on X, according to Reuters.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil decreased 0.3% to $68.40 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract declined 0.2% to $71.41 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures rose 0.6% to $3.20 per 1 million BTU.

In sector news, US natural gas stocks increased by 87 billion cubic feet in the week ended June 26, larger than the 84 billion cubic feet increase expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg and following an increase of 76 billion cubic feet in the previous week.

In corporate news, Chevron ( CVX ) continues to offer positive risk-reward as declining capital intensity across key upstream projects and emerging opportunities across its portfolio strengthen the company's long-term outlook, RBC Capital Markets said in a note. RBC maintained its outperform rating on Chevron ( CVX ) and $220 price target. Chevron ( CVX ) shares were up 1.6%.

TotalEnergies (TTE) said it has agreed to sell its 85% interest in Block 2E offshore Malaysia to INPEX for $350 million. TotalEnergies shares added 2.1%.

Tsakos Energy Navigation ( TEN ) said it placed an order for a second LNG carrier at Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea, with delivery expected in Q1 2029. Tsakos shares jumped past 5%.