01:27 PM EDT, 05/21/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were lower Tuesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index shedding 0.1% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) down 0.3%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector index edged up less than 0.1%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities index was rising 0.6%.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil was declining 0.8% to $79.18 a barrel while the global benchmark Brent crude contract was dropping 0.9% to $82.96 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures fell 2.2% to $2.69 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, Hess (HES) said in a regulatory filing Tuesday that it is facing three lawsuits over its disclosures on the proposed merger with a Chevron ( CVX ) subsidiary. Hess shares were falling 0.8% while Chevron ( CVX ) was down 0.7%.