01:23 PM EST, 03/08/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were mixed Friday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index decreasing 0.4% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) up 0.2%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector index was posting a 0.7% decline and the Dow Jones US Utilities index was up 0.2%.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil was declining 1.1% to $78.05 a barrel while the global benchmark Brent crude contract was down 1% to $82.13 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures were 0.2% lower at $1.82 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, Petrobras (PBR) shares tumbled almost 10% after the board approved a lower-than-expected Q4 dividend of 14.2 billion Brazilian reais ($2.85 billion). Analysts expected $3.7 billion in Petrobras dividends for the quarter, based on Bloomberg's review of estimates by four analysts.