09:00 AM EDT, 07/31/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Energy stocks were advancing premarket Wednesday with the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) up 1.4% recently.

The United States Oil Fund (USO) was 3.2% higher and the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was down 1.1%.

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 3.8% at $77.54 per barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Global benchmark North Sea Brent crude oil gained 2.7% to $80.77 per barrel, and natural gas futures were down 2.2% at $2.08 per 1 million British Thermal Units.

Hess (HES) shares advanced by nearly 2% after it reported higher Q2 adjusted earnings and revenue.