09:02 AM EDT, 04/22/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were declining pre-bell Monday with the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) recently down 0.3%.

The United States Oil Fund (USO) was 1.2% lower and the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was up 0.9%.

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 1.2% at $81.23 per barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Global benchmark North Sea crude oil lost 1.3% to $86.19 per barrel, and natural gas futures were up 1.6% at $2.01 per 1 million British Thermal Units.

TotalEnergies (TTE) said it has signed an agreement with Sapura Upstream Assets Sdn Bhd to buy its remaining 50% stake in Malaysian gas producer and operator SapuraOMV Upstream Sdn for $530 million. TotalEnergies shares were up 0.2% pre-bell.