08:29 AM EDT, 04/02/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were rising premarket Tuesday with the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) recently gaining 0.7%.

The United States Oil Fund (USO) was 1.3% higher and the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was down 2.2%.

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 1.5% at $84.94 per barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Global benchmark North Sea crude oil gained 1.4% to $88.60 per barrel, and natural gas futures were 2% lower at $1.80 per 1 million British Thermal Units.

Schlumberger ( SLB ) and ChampionX ( CHX ) said they have reached a definitive agreement for SLB to buy ChampionX ( CHX ) in an all-stock transaction. Schlumberger ( SLB ) shares were down 0.6% while ChampionX ( CHX ) shares were up 10% in premarket activity.