09:16 AM EDT, 08/01/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were leaning lower pre-bell Thursday with the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLE ) down 0.1% recently.

The United States Oil Fund ( USO ) was 0.1% lower and the United States Natural Gas Fund ( UNG ) was up 2.5%.

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 0.9% at $78.58 per barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Global benchmark North Sea Brent crude oil gained 0.9% to $81.53 per barrel, and natural gas futures were up 2.2% at $2.08 per 1 million British Thermal Units.

Canadian Natural Resources ( CNQ ) shares rose past 2% after it reported Q2 adjusted net earnings of 0.88 Canadian dollars ($0.64) per diluted share, up from CA$0.57 a year earlier.

Shell (SHEL) shares were up 0.8% after it reported Q2 adjusted earnings of $0.99 per diluted share, up from $0.75 a year earlier. The company also said it opened a $3.5 billion share-buyback program covering a total contract term of about three months.

ConocoPhillips ( COP ) shares were up 0.8% after it reported higher Q2 adjusted earnings and revenue.