01:25 PM EDT, 05/06/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were higher Monday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index rising 1.2% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) up 1%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector index was posting a 1.2% gain, and the Dow Jones US Utilities index was rising 0.3%.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil was rising 0.3% to $78.33 a barrel while the global benchmark Brent crude contract was advancing 0.3% to $83.21 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures jumped 4.7% to $2.24 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, Atlas Energy Solutions ( AESI ) shares climbed 5.7%. The company reported Q1 net income of $0.26 per share, up from $0.03 a year earlier but below the Capital IQ consensus of $0.38. Net sales rose nearly 26% to $192.7 million but also missed the analyst mean of $203.4 million. Atlas also said Monday that its board had approved a dividend increase to $0.22 per share from $0.21 the previous quarter.