03:35 PM EDT, 06/12/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were declining late Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index decreasing 0.5% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) down 1.4%.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector index added 0.8%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities index shed 0.8%.

US crude oil stocks, including those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, rose by 4.1 million barrels in the week ended June 7 following an increase of 2.1 million barrels in the previous week. Excluding SPR inventories, commercial crude oil stocks rose by 3.7 million barrels after a 1.2-million-barrel gain in the previous week, compared with the 1.5-million-barrel decrease expected in a Bloomberg survey.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 0.7% to $78.41 a barrel while the global benchmark Brent crude contract advanced 0.7% to $82.51 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures fell 3.1% to $3.03 per 1 million BTU.

In corporate news, Kinder Morgan's ( KMI ) Q2 results are expected to show the impact of lower commodity prices and lower activity in the Haynesville and Eagle Ford shales, UBS said in a report sent Wednesday. UBS raised the company's price target to $24 from $22 and reiterated the buy rating. Kinder Morgan ( KMI ) shares were rising 0.5%.